


Attracted by the light

by Lorelai_of_mexx



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ben is a giver, Dead People, F/M, Fluff and Angst and Fun, Fluff and Smut, Fresh Prince of Bel Air - Freeform, Happy Ending, Jogging, Naked Man in the woods, Netflix and Chill, Night Terrors, Nightmares, Oral Sex, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rey Needs A Hug (Star Wars), Safer Sex, Sassy Rey (Star Wars), Secrets, Shopping, Showers, Slow Burn, Snoke is an Ass, Tags Are Hard, Vaginal Sex, ghost - Freeform, restaurant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-15 01:41:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 35,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29428269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lorelai_of_mexx/pseuds/Lorelai_of_mexx
Summary: A Ghostwisperer AURey Niima, a young woman who has no real home and moves from town to town helping other people... to be precise, helping the Ghosts of these people. Because Rey has been able to see ghosts since she was a child.And so, in the West Coast city of Chandrila, she meets Kylo Ren, a rich and ruthless businessman who is not only under an evil influence, but also devilishly handsome.She has been asked by a woman named Leia to set him straight and save his soul from darkness.So she offers Kylo Ren to work for him (for example, help him around the house, fix something or the like) to stay close to him... What she doesn't suspect is that he wants to hire her as his fake girlfriend to keep the women off his back at official events.But Rey is not deterred and agrees, with the caveat that she is not a high-class prostitute.But do the ghosts always tell her the truth? What secrets are Leia and Kylo hiding, and above all, what shadows are hiding in Rey's past?Translated from German with www.DeepL.com/Translator
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Rose Tico, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 9
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

♫♫  
_I can't stand it, I know you planned it  
I'm gonna set it straight, this Watergate  
I can't stand rocking when I'm in here  
'Cause your crystal ball ain't so crystal clear  
So while you sit back and wonder why  
I got this fucking thorn in my side  
Oh my God, it's a mirage  
I'm tellin' y'all, it's a sabotage_

 _So, so, so, so listen up 'cause you can't say nothin'  
You'll shut me down with a push of your button?  
But you, I'm out and I'm gone  
I'll tell you now, I keep it on and on  
'Cause what you see you might not get  
And we can bet, so don't you get souped yet  
You're scheming on a thing that's a mirage  
I'm trying to tell you now, it's sabotage  
… _  
♫♫

"Well, if you ask me... your taste in music really leaves a lot to be desired, my dear!" whines the woman dressed in white next to Rey.

Rey Niima is on a tour bus on her way to Chandrila, a medium-sized city on the West Coast, in Washington State. As always when she travels on a bus, she sits very far back in the bus, with one leg tucked in and her head leaning against the cooling window glass. (After she has wiped the window clean, of course!).

To distract herself from her surroundings, she wears headphones and listens to the, not exactly, mellow sounds of her one favourite Beastie Boys song. Normally she doesn't notice any outside sounds and can concentrate on her own thoughts but unfortunately, she can still hear her travelling companion's nagging and rolls her eyes in annoyance. 

"I'm a firm believer that good taste in music is formed in childhood... Didn't you get to hear good music in your childhood?"  
Rey rubs her hands over her face, stressed, and then looks around to see if any of the passengers are watching her.  
Everyone is busy doing something else... or sleeping.

Then she turns to the woman next to her. "Why do you have to nag me about my music now?"  
"Because your 'music' is set so loud that I can hear every word being shouted... And the stuff being sung... just doesn't make any sense..." 

Rey takes a deep breath, closes her eyes, and internally goes over her mantra again and again: _*I'm not going to pick a fight in front of everyone! *_  
"Listen..., Leia... right?"  
The woman addressed nods.  
"These lyrics aren't supposed to make sense, they're just supposed to play and convey emotion." Rey tries to defend herself in a whisper.  
"But this whining is just unbearable!" retorts the older woman.  
Annoyed, Rey mumbles a barely audible "I can't stand `your´ whining!" and opens the music function of her mobile phone. After a brief search, she finds the album she wants and presses play.  
Immediately the steady sounds of a violin partita by Bach ring out. The music runs through her head and the woman next to her nods in agreement and remains silent for the rest of the journey. 

As they arrive at a layover and some passengers disembark, one of the travelers fiddles with the luggage rack above Rey and accidentally drops a backpack on the seat next to Rey, which falls right through her companion Leia's body. For a moment Rey is startled at the sight of the piece of luggage passing through Leia's `body' and now lying on the seat next to her. 

"Oh! I'm sorry about that!" the young man says, grinning apologetically at her.  
"Lucky there's no one sitting there!" he jokes.  
Rey says nothing and looks away again. As soon as the man has disappeared, she turns searchingly and sees Leia sitting a few rows behind her, staring bitterly at the man with the shameful backpack. 

After a short continuation, the older woman sits next to her again and Rey is by now listening to the sounds of an opera piece.  
"Such an unseemly thing!" curses Leia.  
Rey takes a pair of headphones aside and looks at Leia with her lips pressed together.  
"But that thing went right through you, easy! Remember? You're a ghost. I don't know what you're so upset about." She comments.  
"But it's the principle! You don't address a young woman so rudely!"  
Rey just rolls her eyes, chuckling, and concentrates again on Luciano Pavarotti's Nessun Dorma.

After several hours and two more stops, the bus finally arrives in Chandrila and Rey can stretch her tired joints.  
Leia is already standing a little further from the bus station waiting for her. This is what has always bugged Rey... ghosts can move normally, but they usually prefer to, (for lack of a better word,) teleport from one spot to another.  
So Rey shoulders her large backpack and follows the ever-disappearing ghost. 

Yes, Rey can see ghosts and has done so all her life. In fact, she can't remember there ever being a time when she didn't see the dead. Luckily for her, she was able to tell them apart from the living at an early age and didn't get into trouble when she was approached by a ghost and was in the company of the living. 

It was not always easy to ignore them or to help them. Many of them look very scary... but in most cases they can't help it. Also, many of them don't know they're already dead and try explaining that to a man who asks for directions and looks like he's just been run over by a bus. (Spoiler alert! He's been hit by a bus!").

But as unpleasant or intrusive as the ghosts are... they all have the same problem... The desire to go into the light. But they can only do that when they have settled unfinished business with the living.  
And Rey helps most of them do that. She travels from town to town and keeps her head above water with odd jobs.  
Luckily for her, she always finds a good paying garage to help out for a few weeks... or a catering company to wait tables for. For two glorious weeks she helped out a dog-sitter and was told by her grandmother that she was very proud of her and where she finds the key and documents for a safe deposit box. 

But this time things are a little trickier. Leia, a deceased woman of about 55 with long brown hair that she wears in an elaborate bun, approached her three days ago and asked... no begged her to help a man in Chandrila.  
So far so uninteresting. But Rey noticed from the first moment that something was different about this ghost. She was a little less surprised that Rey could see her and immediately started ordering her around. Usually, ghosts can barely get over the fact that there's someone who can see them.  
And besides, spirits seeking help want you to send a message to their loved ones or something.  
But Leia only insisted that there was a man in Chandrila who needed her help.  
Nothing else... no name, no description... not even a hint of what kind of help....

And now here she is, walking the busy streets of the city. At some point she walks to a bus stop where a bus is just pulling up. Just in time she sees Leia sitting in it and is able to stop the bus driver before he drives on. 

"Are you finally going to tell me who it is?" she asks in a whisper.  
But Leia just looks at her lovingly and says quietly, "You'll be right there."

After a quarter of an hour they are just outside the city on a hill with far fewer, but much larger, houses.  
Leia asks her to get off at a bus stop that appears to be in the middle of the forest. 

As soon as the bus pulls away, Rey sets her backpack down and puts her hands on her hips.  
"Ok. You're going to tell me who to help now! This is silly! You're leading me out here to Wallachia and... there's no one here!"  
But Leia remains calm and points to a small trail through the forest, which Rey follows with her eyes.  
But as soon as she looks back at Leia, she has disappeared. She gives an annoyed growl and for a moment considers just turning around again and going somewhere else.  
But then she exhales, drops her head dejectedly and throws her luggage back on her shoulder. 

The path is narrow but not uneven and in no time she reaches a villa... No...! Villa is not the right word... this is a classic mansion. A pure white façade, a covered terrace that encompasses the whole front, columns holding up the canopy and a tile-coloured roof with a glazed tower in the middle. 

In front of the house, a black Mercedes is parked on a driveway that seems to lead away from the house for miles.  
Obviously the path was a shortcut. But there is still no sign of Leia.  
But Rey keeps walking towards the house. If she is to help someone, that person seems to live in the house and the car outside the door proves that someone is home. 

Wondering, Rey looks at the surroundings. It is quite unadorned, but neat. The property seems to be surrounded by a forest, making it look very lonely.  
For a moment, as she walks across the manicured lawn, she wonders who would want to live so far out.

"What are you doing here???" roars over from the house.  
Frozen, Rey stops and looks open-mouthed at the voice.  
A tall man, with dark hair stands in front of the open door and stares at her angrily. But she cannot yet answer.  
Then the man comes towards her with big steps and very briefly she sees Leia standing behind him, who nods at her with a smile. And then she is gone again but now Rey knows that it is this man who needs her help. 

_*Why him of all people? *_

"This is private property and you have no business here!" he snaps at her.  
She can see him better up close. He is not only tall, but also broadly built. His ebony hair reaches almost to his shoulder and is neatly coiffed. His face is dominated by his big nose and the many beauty marks, which nevertheless suit him well. And his lips... Jealously Rey wonders how a man can have such a beautiful mouth.  
For a moment she drinks from his coffee-brown eyes until the tall, handsome guy, stupidly, opens his mouth again. 

"Are you a tourist? Do you even understand my question?"  
Rey is confused... tourist... how does he come up with tourist?  
"Listen!" he almost yells now. 

_*Why does everyone who speaks to a foreign language person, think that yelling at them is helpful? *_

"You go..." he points two fingers at a walking person.  
"...down this road..." then he points down the mile-long driveway.  
"...and there you will find the bus station... bus station!" he says even louder and points more energetically.  
"Do you understand me?" even louder....

"Yes..." she says and clears her throat. "It's not like I'm deaf!"  
"Then what are they doing here?" he asks quickly, before Rey can add anything.  
And at that moment it occurs to her that she has no reasonable answer to the question. Unfortunately, Leia hadn't given her any other clue, neither how to help him, nor what kind of person he is, nor how to sneak near him without arousing his suspicions.  
And to make matters worse, said lady is no longer around either. 

Rey is at a loss. This tall, handsome ruffian is going to order her off his property at any moment, and then she's lost any chance of helping Leia.  
"Uh... I'm looking for work." She says simply.  
"Would you like me to give you directions to the job centre?" he asks back cheekily.

_*Such an ass! *_

"No... I thought I could work for you." She says in an emphatically friendly manner.  
"Oh yeah?! As what?"  
"I don't know, I could mow your lawn or do repairs on the house, maybe you need a cook or a cleaner."  
He thinks for a moment and looks at her appraisingly.  
"No!" he replies curtly.  
"Why not?" asks Rey, slightly upset.  
"I have staff who come in regularly to look after the house and garden, I'm here too rarely for a cook to be a necessity and I already have someone to do the housework!"

_*This is stupid now! *_

"You know where to go, have a nice day!" he says goodbye, turning towards the house, already about to leave.

Suddenly, Rey hears a whisper from Leia behind her.  
"Ben Solo!"

Without knowing exactly why, she calls after him, clutching at her last straw.  
"Wait, Mister Solo! There must be something I can tell you..."  
"What was that?" he asks, startled, and turns around again.  
Now his face is white...  
"What did you just call me?"  
"I don't know... I don't know." She lies.  
"You called me Solo!"  
"What...? I..."  
"How do you know that name?" he almost roars now.  
"I don't know... Really i don't know..." she dodges again and tries to take a few steps away from him as he is now walking towards her, emitting a frightening aura. 

"Who are you???" he asks very seriously.  
"I... Like I said, I'm just looking for work." She now firmly asserts and defiantly offers him a defiant look.  
This surprises him.  
"Are you an industrial spy?"  
"What...? Where did you get the stupid idea?"  
"Were you hired by anyone?" he asks, grabbing her by the upper arms.  
"No I wasn't..." she pulls away again.  
"I'm asking _'you'_ for a job right now."

He thinks for a long time and looks her up and down again.  
Then he stares into her eyes for a long time.  
"Forgive me...! I thought you were..."  
"A criminal?" finishes Rey's sentence.  
He smirks a little. "I didn't mean to put it that way but... yes."  
Rey is anything but thrilled.  
"Charming!"

"So you're just looking for work?" he asks more seriously now.  
"Yes, I'd really do anything."  
But the very next moment she regrets this sentence. Suddenly he looks at her differently and Rey feels a little uncomfortable.  
"Anything you say...?!" he muses.

As he almost imperceptibly runs his tongue over his upper lip, she gets a bad premonition.  
"How old are you?"  
Puzzled, Rey frowns.  
"Twenty-four... Why?"  
"You know... I'm on the road a lot and... I could use some company more often..."  
"I'm not a whore!" she yells at him, taking a few steps back, startled.

But instead of being embarrassed or simply dismissing it as a misunderstanding... his face just contorts into a cocky grin.  
"Believe me sweetheart...! I don't need to pay money for sex!"

_*Why are the good-looking ones always such creeps? *_

"No... I'm often invited to formal occasions and I need a good-looking companion around me... I don't know how to put it better... to keep annoying women off my back."  
"So you need a fake girlfriend?" she asks enlighteningly, raising an eyebrow.  
"Yes." Is his clear answer. 

Rey lets the thought run through her mind for a while. At least this way she would be near him temporarily and could find out more about him. With anyone else she would probably run away but there is something about him... that attracts her....

Or maybe it's just the fact that she wants to get rid of Leia. Quite possibly this one would haunt her to the end of her days if she didn't help this man. 

"All right."  
"Fine...! Why don't you come into the house with me so we can sort out the key points!"

On her way to the house, she notices that a curtain has been pushed aside behind one of the windows... They were being watched.

"What is your name anyway?"  
"Uh... Rey..., Rey Niima."  
"What kind of name is Niima? Are you from abroad?"  
"No...! But Johnson, Smith and Doe, there were plenty of them in the orphanage I lived in." She replies somewhat venomously.  
"You grew up in the foster system?" he asks in amazement.  
"Yes... Does that pose a problem?"  
"No, not at all..." this time his voice is softer... almost compassionate.  
He then leads her silently into the house.

Inside, a large foyer awaits them, dominated by a noble spiral staircase. To the right is a dining room where the table and chairs are covered with white cloths. The same is found in the drawing room on the left, through which he leads her to his study. 

"Now I'm not surprised you don't need a housekeeper!" she says casually.  
"I am, as I said, seldom here."  
"Then why do you have such a big house in the first place?"  
"I like the solitude out here."

His study doubles as a library, with a huge selection of books. And Rey's fingers itch to walk the rows along the wall and study the titles on the spines.

"Sit down, please!" he offers her, pointing to the chair opposite his desk.  
In front of the mahogany desk, Rey feels small and insignificant and wonders what made him hire her as his fake girlfriend. 

"What did you mean about not having to pay money for sex?" she asks on impulse. And probably out of a sense of self-preservation too. Her spirits have never got her into serious trouble but she doesn't want to voluntarily put herself in the hands of a sex offender either.

"I would never book a hooker... To be perfectly honest, the idea of paid sex disgusts me... In my opinion, people who pay money for sex are... Socially screwed!" he says in a firm and serious voice.  
"Or just lonely." she murmurs.  
At this he stares at her for a long time and seems to be weighing something up.  
Eventually he clears his throat, crosses his arms on the table and starts with a, "So..."

As it turns out, this man is a tough negotiator. Rey had expected that he would pay her a fee for every public event she attended with him and that she would have to get a second job to afford a cheap motel for the rest of the time. But... far from it. For her feigned services as his steady girlfriend, he offers her free room and board, as well as a generous allowance. He also pays for her outfit, which includes clothes, hair and make-up.  
And on top of that, the public 'appearances' seem to be reduced to only two invitations so far.  
She suspects that the issue of loneliness plays a bigger role with him than he admits and therefore she agrees. 

She, on the other hand, has to promise not to date any other man for the duration of their agreement..., he had insisted very vehemently. He seems to have a bit of a trust problem. But she would be able to deal with that. It's not like men are going to bang down the door of a homeless drifter.  
Besides, he insists that she behave appropriately in company and keep her obvious foul mouth in check.  
What matters most to him, however, is the fact that she must never call him Ben Solo again. From now on, he is just Kylo Ren to her. 

After the trial, they go back into the foyer and he calls over a man named Threepeo.

Threepeo is a slim, older man with the typical, featureless butler's face.  
Ben instructs him to prepare a room for her and then invites her into the kitchen for a coffee to get to know her better.

"So Miss Niima... where are you from?" he asks blithely as they sit down at the kitchen table with coffee.  
Even the kitchen counter is generously covered with cloths to protect it from dust.  
"From Illinois... or at least I grew up there. And please call me Rey..., Kylo!"  
"So you don't know where you were born or where your roots are, Rey?"  
The way he asks makes her uneasy and suddenly she feels a little uncomfortable under his gaze.  
"No, I don't and I'd like to change the subject and not blather on about my shitty childhood!"

With raised eyebrows, he looks at her with amusement and continues, "Well..., tell me then, what drives a pretty young woman to make her way through the world with odd jobs?"  
"What kind of answer do you want now?" she asks defiantly.  
"The truth would be quite nice..."

After a careful sip of the hot, blissful liquid, she puts the cup down and looks out the window.  
"I don't know..." she says, shrugging her shoulders.  
"I've just never really felt... at home anywhere, I guess..."  
Glancing at him, she notes that he's keeping a close eye on her and she grimaces.  
"And so, I just get around a lot and meet all sorts of people... I'd consider that a blessing!" she says with a smile.

"But isn't it also dangerous? Not everyone is benevolent Rey!"  
"I know that too... but so far I've always been good at staying out of difficult situations. I guess I'll have something like a guardian angel by my side..." she jokes, grinning at him.

Before he or she can say another word, a ringing sounds. Grumbling in annoyance, he pulls a mobile phone out of his pocket and taps the screen. 

"Ren!" he barks angrily into the receiver.  
A short murmur on the other line.  
"I'm on my way... let Hux know! Tell him to verify everything!"  
Without waiting for a reply, he hangs up and lets the phone disappear back into his pocket.

"I have to get back to work. Threepeo will show you to your room and if you need anything, just let him know! But he gets off work at 8pm. If I'm not back by then... will you be okay on your own?"  
"Yeah, sure... I'll know how to keep myself busy for a few hours. I'm not a little kid anymore!"  
He stops moving briefly, seeming to weigh his next words, but Rey guesses what's on his mind.

"I won't rob you either, I promise!" she vows, a little annoyed.  
"I never meant to..."  
"Yes, you were!" she interrupts him.  
He spares a retort and simply leaves the kitchen.

Threepeo then leads her to her room on the first floor. Here the sheets seem to have been removed recently and her bed has been freshly made.  
After she opens the window, a fresh breeze blows into the room.  
In and of itself, it is simply furnished. A desk, a wardrobe and a four-poster bed with a bedside table. But the view from the window makes her feel like a princess in an enchanted castle. At the end of the driveway, she can still make out Ben's car and out to the side, she sees the sea.  
Now she also notices a slight salty note in the air. Although she should be hungry, she is suddenly struck by a fierce tiredness and sits down on the soft bed. 

Then a thought occurs to her and in a suppressed voice she calls out, "Leia?! Leia, are you here?" But no answer. She had hoped to talk again with the woman who had led her here. But it looks like she will have to manage on her own for the time being. 

She is beginning to get the feeling that Leia has been hiding things from her... and Ben... or Kylo Ren seems to be hiding things from her too. But now she's here. And so far, she's led every ghost into the light... she's not going to let a secret-keeper like Leia spoil her quota!

Even though it's not even 5 o'clock in the afternoon, Rey lies down and feels like she's falling into a death-like sleep, like Sleeping Beauty.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo and Rey make their first appearance together and his colleague Hux... comes up with a... special surprise.

Chapter 2

"And when you've done that, I want another accurate cost-benefit comparison. Something like this must not happen again, Mitaka!" Kylo Ren reprimands his employee.  
"Yes, sir!" he replies curtly.  
He briefly looks at his wristwatch and then out of the window. Outside, the sun has already set and dark clouds are gathering over the sea.  
"But first go home! You can still do that tomorrow!" he says more calmly.  
The person addressed furrows his eyebrows in confusion and looks at him incredulously. Then he seems to catch himself, recollects himself and quickly flees the office.

"You're scaring him!" says his colleague and friend, Armitage Hux. The redhead sits on a chair in front of the desk with his legs crossed.  
"He just needs to do his job properly, then he has no reason to be afraid!" retorts Kylo.  
"Now calm down, it's not his fault that Shipping is supposed to get a government contract..."  
"But it's his job to find out such things! Yours, too, for that matter..."  
"Okay, peace offering. A friend from Collage works on the committee that hands out these contracts, I could ask him to give the contract to another company." He suggests.  
"That's fine... but can you just freeze the order?"  
"I have no idea what that would do but that works too... well then..." says Hux, clapping his hands and standing up.  
"See you tomorrow!"

"Wait for it!" shouts Kylo back at him.  
"About the dinner on Monday..."  
"We'll convince them both... you don't have to worry!"  
"I'll show up with company." Says Kylo simply.  
"Oh... are you saying...?"  
"I don't want you showing up there as a fifth wheel..."  
"You want me to sit out the evening then?!" surmises Hux.  
"...That's why I want you to come with company too!" adds Kylo to his sentence.

"Oh... Where did you get an escort so quickly?"  
"She's my new girlfriend." He informs.  
"And who is she? Do I know her?"  
"You probably don't know her and you'll find out who she is on Monday!" reels Kylo off the conversation and dismisses the redhead from his office.

Relieved, Kylo exhales and runs a hand through his hair. An important business acquisition is about to take place and quite unexpectedly, another small hurdle has appeared in the way. But Kylo Ren, CEO of the First Order Corporation, will clear that too. They will buy up the economically weak corporation and then sell it off piece by piece. And they will make a huge profit in the process.

He stands broodingly in front of his window and looks out to sea.

_*How much is enough? *_  
He asks himself this question more and more often. The company owner, Mister Snoke has a very clear answer to that... _"It's never enough!!!"_

On the way back to the house, it keeps running through his mind that this stupid gala is getting closer and closer. An evening of social engagements and boredom and no way to avoid it....

Arriving outside the mansion, he looks up at the sky again and notices that the dark clouds are heralding a storm.  
Briefly he wonders if Threepeo has closed all the windows.  
At the front door he is startled for a moment... The door is not locked.  
Quickly he looks at the carport... Threepeo's car is not there.  
But why did he leave the door open?

And then the scales fall from his eyes... Rey....

That's right! The young woman he hired today to play his alibi girlfriend. How could he forget her?  
Sweet little Rey... Sweet and mysterious little Rey.  
She is highly suspicious and probably only means trouble but....

After grabbing a beer from the fridge, he heads up to the first floor and immediately to the guest room. Inside it is dark and at first, he thinks she has run away. After his stomach drops to his knees for a second, he sees her sleeping peacefully on her bed.

Yes, there is something... something about her that attracts him....  
Without waking her, he pulls the blanket forward and covers her.  
Then he goes back to his study and sits down to work on the details of forming the contract.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Rey wakes up the next morning, it is raining outside. Not unusual for this area, but it prevents any outdoor activity.

After showering and getting freshly dressed, she makes her way to the kitchen, expecting to find Ben there.  
But to be found is only Threepeo. Ben is already back at work.  
"Good morning Miss Niima!" he greets her politely.  
"I have made you breakfast. Would you like coffee or would you prefer tea?"  
"Coffee please."

The breakfast is rich... richer than usual.  
The butler puts toast, scrambled eggs, pancakes with syrup and bacon in front of her. When he also wanted to make fried eggs, she had to stop him.  
Otherwise she would never be able to run off the calories.

She found that he was very easy to talk to.  
He has worked for Ben for about 3 years and only knows him by the name Kylo Ren.  
She also learns from him that he is the CEO of a multi-million dollar company that buys up weaker companies and then sells them off piece by piece for profits.

This sounds very ruthless to Rey. But she can't talk to him any further because, he says, he has to go about his daily duties.  
So, she sets off to take a closer look at the house.  
She is a little surprised that Ben lets her walk through the house so unobserved, without fearing that she might steal something. But after the third room, wrapped in sheets, Rey is sure... even if there was, there would be nothing to steal here.

There are only bedrooms on the first floor, all of which are open. Except for the master bedroom. Probably Ben's. There is another staircase leading up another floor, but it has been made a dead end by a locked door.

On the ground floor there is what appears to be a music room with more bookshelves and a large grand piano shrouded in drapery. There is also a glazed passageway leading to an annexe containing an indoor swimming pool and a small gym. Behind the property is a lawn that seems to lead directly to a cliff. But due to the rain, the sea cannot be seen today.

After visiting the whole house, she pulls back the duster of a comfortable-looking leather armchair in the music room and curls up there with a book in her hand, losing herself in the lyrical world of William Blake.

And so, the next three rainy days pass in which she hardly... or never sees Ben at all. He's actually at work all the time and apart from Threepeo she doesn't see a soul. And that's meant quite seriously. She doesn't see a ghost either. Neither Leia nor any other unredeemed soul.  
And so, she has no choice but to read, swim in the pool or work her ass off in the gym.

On the fourth day, she wakes up with two horrors. One is sunlight beaming into her room, blinding her, and the other is Ben sitting on the edge of the bed watching her.  
"Oh man! Can't you knock or something?" she complains.  
He's dressed again in a fine three-piece suit and tie... Apparently on his way to work.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I'm just here to tell you that we have a appointment tonight."  
"Oh...A date!" she replies bitingly.  
"I'll pick you up at 5:30 pm. We're meeting one of my work colleagues and a potential business partner and his wife. Please wear something appropriate... some kind of mini dress!" he instructs her business-like.

"You mean a cocktail dress?!"  
"Yes, something like that. I'll send you a chauffeur at ten o'clock to take you into town, to do some shopping. He'll also take care of the finances for you."  
Rey nods in agreement and waits for a continuation. He seems to be struggling a little with his next words.  
"Can I count on you to behave yourself around company?" he asks at last.  
" I will just manage to keep my mouth shut for a few hours." She teases him and winks playfully.  
He just eyes her with a raised eyebrow and then says goodbye.

As Ben had promised, another black Mercedes arrived at 10 o'clock. The driver, a young man named Finn, took them downtown, to a finer boutique. The saleswomen had given her good advice and sold her a dark blue short dress, with a black hem and three-quarter sleeves, with matching black stilettos.

As she got on very well with Finn, she suggested they get takeaway noodles from a takeaway and have a car picnic for lunch.  
Finn drove back to the cliffs for this, near the house, where they had a fantastic view of the sea.

Rey worried for some time about breaking the agreement, as she was very familiar with Finn and was not supposed to cultivate any other male acquaintances. But in the course of the day it turned out that Finn is gay and has a cute boyfriend from Guatemala.

What scared her a little at first was meeting her first ghost in three days.  
In the boutique, a young woman in a fancy 70s outfit was walking around trying to convince her that shoulder pads were in right now. It's hard to concentrate on one shop assistant when you want to ignore the other.

After Finn dropped her back at the house, Rey holed up in the music room to read for a few more hours until she changed for the evening.

At exactly 5:29, she's ready at the door. Luckily, it's very mild after the rain and she doesn't need to wear a jacket. In fact, she and the ladies in the boutique forgot to think of a coat or something similar.

Right on time, Ben pulls up in the limo with Finn.  
He too is wearing a well-fitting suit and looks simply delicious.  
They barely speak to each other on the drive. He just tells her that they are going to meet Mr. and Mrs. Shipping and that his company plans to buy out the company Shipping runs. His work colleague Hux would also be joining them and would also have a female companion by his side.

Rey can tell he is nervous about her.  
Without much thought, she grabs his hand and squeezes it reassuringly. When he looks at her, slightly taken aback, she smiles at him and says in a reassuring voice, "Relax! Everything will be fine!"

The restaurant is a classy haute cuisine place where you can only get a table with months of waiting. Shippings are already waiting in the restaurant. Mr. Shipping is a slightly grizzled, friendly man with a funny moustache that looks like he stole it from a walrus. Mrs Shipping is tall, slim, with flaming red hair tied into a bun and a cold look in her eyes.  
Disparagingly, she looks Rey up and down and seems to have already determined that she does not belong in her company.

There is a polite greeting, during which Rey cannot help but notice that Mr Shipping is not very well disposed towards Ben.  
He seems all the more enthusiastic about Rey for that. He is extremely polite and smiles at her with an endearing grandfatherly smile, which creates lovely laughter lines around his eyes.

For a moment, Rey feels that she could get through this evening unscathed if only she could stay away from Mrs Shipping.  
But then Hux, Ben's work colleague, arrives with his escort.  
A hydrogen-bleached Barbie doll, with clearly fake tits, clearly sprayed-on lips and the clearly established job title of a professional horizontal mistress.

Suddenly Rey feels transported back to that first conversation with Ben, that he would never hire a prostitute as a matter of principle....  
Maybe he should have drummed that principle into his colleague.

The heavily made-up Barbie wears a pink glitter dress and red high heels (that is so not fitting!).

_*What was this idiot thinking? *_

The same thought seems to go through Ben's mind.  
She introduces herself as Brandy... _*Of course! *_  
Mr. and Mrs. Shipping both seem equally disturbed and just wrinkle their noses imperceptibly.

When she arrives at the table, Ben pushes her chair into place. Luckily, she thinks, she is not sitting near Mrs Shipping. But the very next moment her luck turns as Brandy sits down to her left.

"Man! Those are some badass shoes you're wearing!" the Barbie says in a sickeningly nasal voice, pointing at Rey's new stilettos. Uncertainly, Rey thanks her silently, then looks at her seat and briefly squints over at Ben, who is sitting on her right side and is visibly tense.  
Across from her, Mrs Shipping is about to sit down and then it happens. Rey is almost scared to death and can only disguise her clear intake of breath with a fake coughing fit. Directly behind Mrs. Shipping is a much older woman, with hair just as flaming red. Most strikingly, however, she is dressed in a long nightgown and..., she is clearly a ghost.

_*Great! In order to help Ben, I have to play the inconspicuous perfect little girlfriend tonight and now, of all times, a ghost seems to have attached itself to the company. *_

Ben looks at her worriedly and Rey soothes her fake cough with a sip of water.  
And of course, worst of all..., The older lady has noticed Rey's reaction and now knows that she, could see her. No matter how hard Rey tries to ignore the ghost..., She has finally found someone who can help her... And such ghosts can become very clingy.

After the waiter has brought the cards, Rey asks for forgiveness and pushes that she has to powder her nose for a moment and that Ben should order the fish for her.  
Getting up, she gives the woman a discreet wave, thereby asking her to meet her in the bathroom.

"I knew you saw me!" the woman in the bathroom immediately starts. Rey tells her to be quiet and checks the other cubicles to see if they have listeners.  
"Oh sorry! I haven't been used to talking to people for so long... you can't imagine how lonely it is..."  
"Uh... listen! That's all well and good but..."  
"Oh... I forgot my manners. Excuse me...! My name is Marie Beth Shipping. Sue's mother."

Rey, who was about to forbid her to speak a moment ago, now listens up.  
"You mean Mrs. Shipping..., there at the table?"  
"Yes, dear. And it's because of her that I'm still here. You've got to help me! Your friend out there is planning to buy the company from her... Sue doesn't think she has the strength to restore the company to its former glory, but I know she has it in her. Please help her rediscover that power!"  
"That means you don't want First Order to buy out your daughter's company?"  
"Why no! This company was built from the ground up by my father and there are many lives attached to this company that would be ruined by a sale. Please... you are my only hope!"

She then disappeared.  
"Thank you very much!"  
That's what Rey hates most about ghosts, that they just disappear from one second to the next.  
Just like Leia, who she hasn't seen in days.

After washing her hands, she goes back to the table where the men, completely in their element are talking business. Apparently, even Mr Shipping is reluctant to sell his company to the First Order so readily.  
Meanwhile, Barbie... Uh, Brandy marvels at her own (fake) fingernails and Mrs. Shipping listens attentively to the men's conversations.  
But she herself never speaks up. Now the company seems to belong to her and her husband is only doing the day-to-day business. But her mother is right... she doesn't seem to feel strong enough to speak up.

But how is Rey supposed to help her and support Ben at the same time?

"For real! That's a top-notch piece... really fancy!" Brandy babbles in Mrs. Shipping's direction.  
She looks at her with frightened eyes and seems to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown.  
Hux pokes Barbie... uhm, Brandy in the side and forces her to be silent.

"I beg your pardon!" hisses Miss Shipping, upset.  
Barbie is about to reply until Rey intervenes in time.  
"What I'm sure she meant to say is that she really likes your necklace... Is it a jasper? A birthstone... right?" Rey keeps talking, hoping Barbie, beside her, will shut up.

"Then you were born in April... Aries!? So a fire sign... That goes with your beautiful hair!" cajoles Rey and it seems to work too.  
Mrs Shipping suddenly smiles very warmly and gets a slight blush around her nose.

"Yes... indeed... you know about astrology?" she asks directly.  
"I dabble in it a little..., yes."  
In fact, Rey was once given a book on astrology, New Age and gemstones by someone. During her travels, she was able to read through it several times.

And then a thought occurs to her how she might be able to help the woman after all.  
"Surely it was a gift?!" she speculates.  
With one look into Mrs. Shipping's eyes, Rey realises that she has hit the mark. She looks slightly concerned, touches the pendant with her fingertips and answers in a slightly more brittle voice.  
"Um... yes..., yes! It was a gift from my mother... she gave it to me for my 18th birthday."  
"I'm sure she's very proud of you!"

Mrs Shipping looks like she's going to start crying at any moment, she swallows hard and at that second her mother's ghost brushes her finger along her cheek and the woman very gently touches the spot on her cheek and seems to think for a moment.  
Then she looks more closely at Rey, who smiles kindly at her and all coldness, has disappeared from Mrs. Shipping's whole demeanor.

"Here comes the food!" announces Mrs. Shipping in a clearly affected voice, placing her napkin on her lap.  
Rey and the men do the same but, as you would expect..., Barbie... uhm, Brandy shoves the napkin down her oversized cleavage and Rey has to stifle a smirk.

At least Hux has the decency to be just as embarrassed as everyone else.

After the meal, which incidentally was almost forgotten when Barbie asked why she didn't get any corn..., after all, she had ordered corn poulard.  
Ben almost choked on a piece of potato and the Shippings just stubbornly looked at their plates.

Before dessert was served, Mrs Shipping turned back to Rey to dodge another stupid comment from the Barbie.

"Tell me, Rey! What do you do for a living?"  
Ben stiffened and Rey knew exactly why. They had never laid out a legend for each other. How they met... What they had in common... Or what profession they pursued....

"I work as a bereavement counsellor."  
Luckily, Rey already had some key points ready.  
"Oh... That sounds like a difficult job." Says Mrs Shipping.  
"Yes..., it's a very emotional job." Gives Rey, aware that Ben is watching her closely.

As dessert is served, Barbie presents the group with a bit of a challenge.  
As soon as she starts eating her chocolate soufflé, she not only attracts the attention of everyone at the table. With loud and lascivious moans, she announces how good the chocolate tastes to her. It is obvious to all the men that they are clearly uncomfortable.  
Rey has to stop eating her caramel mousse immediately, puts her spoon aside and puts her fingers to her lips to stifle a loud laugh.

On the whole, they have survived the evening very well. Even if Rey is sure that Ben hasn't made a move on the Shippings.

At the entrance, Mrs Shipping takes her aside briefly and talks to her privately.

"Do you have plans on Wednesday, by any chance?" she asks directly.  
"I... No, I think I'm still unattached then."  
"I'd be delighted if you'd come and see me for tea...I'd like to get to know you a little better, Rey."  
"Thank you, Mrs Shipping...I'd love to come."  
"Oh, do call me Sue! I'll expect you at 2:30 pm."

Afterwards they say goodbye to the couple and watch them get into their car and drive away.

"Really, Huxi! That was a really horny meal! I'm so full! I don't think I'll ever eat again! But I'll still get my money... won't I?"

Rey doesn't know exactly what she was expecting but....  
" Sweetheart...! Why don't you get in the car already, I have to check something with my employee!"

_*Oops...! A moment ago he was a colleague... now he is, just an employee...! *_

She doesn't realize until a few seconds later that she was meant by that and replies at some point with a smile, "But yes." And gets into the car that has just pulled up with Finn.  
As soon as the door is closed, she can't help giggling. The absurdity of this person is simply beyond anything she has experienced so far. I wonder what his colleague would think if he knew that Rey was basically hired to play the girlfriend, too?

"What's so funny about you cringing like that?" asks Finn, glancing in the rearview mirror.  
"You wouldn't believe me!" she says, continuing to giggle.  
"Can you hold it then or are you about to pee on my back seat?"  
Glancing out of the car to make sure Ben hasn't come back yet, she tells him her experiences with Hydrogen Barbie.  
Finn just looks at her smiling in disbelief and turns back to the front at the right moment once Ben finally gets in the car.

Trying to stifle a grin, Rey bites his lower lip and waits.  
He gives Finn the order to drive off and puts his face in his hands.  
Then he runs his hands through his hair and looks at Rey. And then they go into a shared fit of laughter.

As soon as they have calmed down to some extent, the car is already at the edge of town.  
"Thank you!" he breathes out eventually, somewhat breathlessly.  
"For what? For knowing where the corn is at the corn poulard or for being able to eat my dessert without putting a boner in all the men's pants?" she asks back, grinning.  
He just smiles and says in a soft voice, "Just, thank you!"  
"You're welcome!" she replies just as gently and on impulse grabs his hand.  
So, they drive the rest of the way back to the mansion in silence.

Back at the house, they both stand in the foyer for a moment, seemingly not knowing what to do next.  
Not knowing exactly where to look, she just stares sheepishly at the floor, feverishly wondering what to do now.

"Um... do you still feel like a coffee or a drink?" he asks, just as embarrassed as she feels.  
 _*How odd...! *_ she thinks to herself. She's known this man for just four days... but looking into those beautiful eyes now... she might think they've always been connected.

Suddenly, Rey feels uncomfortable and takes a step back.  
"I think... it would be better if I went to sleep now. I'm sure you have work to do anyway... right?"  
He nods curtly and watches her go up the stairs.

"Oh Rey!" he stops her.  
"You..., look beautiful!"  
A whole swarm of butterflies cavort in her stomach and she feels her cheeks glow. Embarrassed, she gives him a small smile and leaves, saying, "Good night Ben!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter and have a great Monday! 
> 
> Stay healthy!  
> Your Lori ♥


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a nightmare attack and an encounter with very permissive forest residents..., Ben and Rey are getting closer and closer... ;)

_***_

_At first I hear many people talking... Their voices get louder and then quieter again. They pass me by.  
Then there are the smells... pretzels, ice cream, lemonade, fruit, rubber, hair shampoo, plants, cleaning products....  
But the only thing I feel..., is her hand holding mine. Cold as ice are her fingers and the grip that was firm and secure at the beginning... becomes lighter and lighter and with time, her hand disappears.  
As soon as I open my eyes..., all I can see is her cold and pale fingers blurring into the crowd. _

_There are so many people... they are so loud... But, where is she? Where is...?  
I am alone... She has left me alone. Why did she leave? I feel my heart, like the wings of a small bird, fluttering excitedly. My eyes hurt... There is a thick lump in my throat... The first tear makes its way...._

_"Don't be afraid my little one!"  
The voice comes from a nice woman, in a blue dress... just as blue as her lips. She smiles lovingly at me and squats down beside me.  
"Where's Mummy?" says my small childish voice.  
"It's better this way!" is all she says. Then there are many other people who look like the woman with the blue dress.  
A man, with a big hole in his stomach that I can see through. One woman has the heel of a shoe stuck in her head and another man has his neck all twisted. They scare me but they are nice to me. And all the other..., normal people just pass through them... as if they were just smoke. _

_But there's one that scares me. He's tall, and wears a suit like a priest... and he has no eyes anymore. And yet I feel uneasy under his eyeless gaze....  
In a cold lifeless voice he speaks to me, "Trust in the light...! Little girl!"_

_***_

"Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!" startles Rey from her sleep with a scream and sits up.  
Exhausted, she puts her face in her hands and starts to cry.

This hasn't happened to her in a long time... The nightmare of how her mother let go of her hand in a shopping mall and never came back has haunted her since childhood. And every time she wakes up screaming when she sees the priest without eyes calling her little girl and babbling some nonsense about the light.

To shake off the dream, she gets up and goes to the toilet.  
After washing her hands and splashing cold water on her face, she paces up and down her room. She can't get any more peace like that. So, she makes a decision and puts on her sports leggings and a sweatshirt. Then she goes downstairs to the foyer with her trainers in her hand.

Unfortunately, she wasn't quite enough. Suddenly the door to the lounge opens and she is enveloped in a cone of light.  
"What are you doing?" asks Ben, who was obviously still working. He is now wearing sweatpants and a T-shirt that is excellently stretched around his biceps.

 _*This man would look good even in a potato sack! *_ she thinks to herself.

"I... I can't sleep and I want to go for a jog..."  
Ben eyes her carefully and then walks towards her.

"Was that you screaming just now?" he asks quietly.  
"Is there anyone else in the house who could have screamed?" she asks back harshly.  
He swallows and says nothing, then waits.  
Then she crouches down to tie her first shoe and almost whispers, "Yes... I had a nightmare... no big deal!"  
Ben is silent, watching her as she also ties the other shoe with a knot and a bow.

"If you're really going to walk at this hour, at least let me come with you!"  
Rey doesn't look up, just nods and then watches him run up the stairs to put on the right shoes.

In fact, she feels much safer with Ben. Even though it's not really cold, the stars are obscured by thick clouds. Completely alone, Rey would probably have got the jitters after all. Besides, his walking style is very comfortable. He seems to adapt to her speed and yet always keeps the appropriate distance so as not to get too close.

 _*It's like having my own personal bodyguard... *_ she thinks, chuckling inwardly.

But every good run has to come to an end. Hers, ends from the moment a completely naked man appears in front of her path and she jumps to the side in shock, bracing herself against a tree, breathing heavily. Always careful not to look at the very revealing ghost walker, she stands in front of the tree as if she were a child playing hide and seek and it is her turn to count.

Seeing a naked ghost is actually nothing new for her... It's unbelievable how many people die unclothed. But this one seems to have jumped naked in front of a bus... because his skin is marked by countless injuries and mutilations.

At some point, she hears Ben behind her.  
"Are you, all right? Did you hurt yourself or something?" he asks with slight concern in his voice.  
"No, no. I'm fine, just need to catch my breath." She lies without looking up.  
"You're not saying you're tired already, are you?" she suddenly hears his voice very close and very insinuating, close to her ear.

As soon as she looks up, she realizes that Ben has his hands braced to the left and right of her face, encircling her.  
Without touching him much, she turns around and is now standing with her back against the tree. Ben looks at her with a look that just screams desire, which takes Rey very much by surprise....  
Although... actually, it shouldn't surprise her. After tonight's dinner, they've clearly grown closer... If only there wasn't that naked traffic accident.

Rey knows where this is going and actually, she wouldn't mind... Absolutely not. Ben is tall, well-built and gives the impression that he knows exactly what he's doing. So, she wouldn't mind a quickie in the forest....  
However, as his face gets closer and closer, she turns her head to the side, causing him to freeze in motion.

"Please don't take this the wrong way but... I'm not in the mood right now!" she says and has to swallow because she briefly sees the figure of the naked Johnnie (she calls him Johnnie now) and actually loses all desire for anything.  
Even though he tries hard, she can still tell that he resents her. Especially when she suggests running back to the house and this time he coldly hangs up on her.

_*Why do men always have to be such vindictive divas? *_

Back at the house, Ben is just coming towards her with a bottle of water at his mouth and continues into the lounge, ignoring her.

_*Hrrr! Catchy noodle! *_

"I'm going to have a shower!" she informs him defiantly.  
He just waves it off.

Annoyed, she looks after him, playing in her head with a thought that has been on her mind for a few minutes. And... why not?  
Without giving it much thought, she heads for the stairs and calls after him, "You know..., to save water, we could take a shower together."  
At the suggestion, he actually comes back again.  
"I can just about afford the water. Thanks Rey! Go ahead and shower by yourself!" he barks at her and turns back around.

Rey furrows her eyebrows, wondering if he's really that vindictive... or if he's just stupid....

"Tell me, are you really that vindictive or did you chump not listen to me just now?" she asks sourly.  
He looks at her askance and after a few seconds the penny finally drops.  
His face brightens and his eyes widen.  
"Don't play games with me, Rey!" he warns her. But her cheeky smile proves to him that she means it.

He throws the plastic bottle into the corner, runs towards her and throws her over his shoulder. Then he storms up the stairs with the screaming and kicking Rey, straight into his bathroom.

It's a bit bigger than hers. Especially the shower is bigger. And his bathroom has a claw-footed bathtub, which she has only ever seen in old films.  
He puts her down and immediately wants to start tugging at her things until she knocks his hands away.

"I'm an adult and I can undress myself, Ben!" she snaps at him. Now he looks at her with an adorable puppy dog look that almost makes her regret her harsh words... but only almost!

"You'd better get rid of your own clothes!" she tells him and starts to take off her sweaty sweatshirt.  
As soon as she has pulled the garment over her face, she has to laugh briefly. Ben has just performed a magic trick and pulled all the clothes off his body within two seconds.  
Now he stands naked before her and she can admire him in all his glory.  
A broad, pale chest, with the most beautiful upper arms she has ever seen on a man.

_*When does this man find the time to visit his gym... or... when does he actually sleep? *_

And look at his abs! She'd like to run her hands over them, she thinks to herself as she drops her shirt and bites her lower lip.

"Now it's your turn!" he asks her. Briefly she looks up at his face. He is flushed and stares at her expectantly.  
She is about to grab the waistband of her leggings when her gaze drifts back down and she slaps her hands in front of her face in shock. "Oh my God!!!" She exclaims from under her hands, watching between her fingers as Ben looks down worriedly. "What? What...?"

Now she holds her hands in front of her mouth to stifle her laughing out loud.  
"Nothing, nothing! It's just..." she stammers, pointing with one hand at his (very) strapping soldier.  
"Well I mean... I knew you were tall... but I didn't expect this." She says, still having to stifle a laugh.

In fact, Ben is `bigger' than anyone she's ever been with.  
_*Will this even fit? *_ she asks herself for a moment.

He seems very uncomfortable with the subject and looks to the side with his lips pressed together.  
"Tell me Ben!!! Why don't you have a girlfriend anyway?" she asks curiously.  
"I... I don't know... Too much work!" he says hastily, his face turning red with embarrassment.  
"Well... in my opinion... If you advertised that thing... women would be beating down your door." She jokingly returns, to which he looks at her wide-eyed for a brief moment.  
Then he laughs out loud and she joins in his laughter.

While he lets the water warm up, she takes off the rest of her clothes. And then they are face to face...  
"You are beautiful!" he breathes and holds out his hand to her.  
Butterflies awaken in her stomach again, as they did earlier when he told her at the stairs that she was beautiful.  
Funny... so far men have only said she was sexy... had a nice ass or a charming smile....  
But the way Ben looks at her, the way he worships her with his eyes... Rey feels like a goddess landing on the beach riding on a giant shell while angels sing in chorus: _`Divine Venus has arrived. Receive her light and bathe in it!'_

_*Where do I come up with this shit? *_

"Listen...!" she starts as he grabs her hand and pulls her into his arms.  
"This is purely physical..." she says, pointing her hand back and forth between them.  
"So..., just an... scratch because it itches!" she tries to explain herself as he slides his hands down her body.  
"Just an itch...!" then he grips her waist and pulls her up, whereupon she clings to him with her arms and legs.  
"Not a serious thing!" she agrees with him.  
"Can I handle it!" he says as he steps into the shower with her and under the warm stream of water. Then he lowers her back down and holds her pressed against the wall.

The kiss that follows is hot and intimate. Their mouths barely part as they explore each other's bodies under the splashing water.  
As Rey is about to take a step further, Ben stops her. "No, no, wait sweetheart! I don't have any birth control here!"  
"You don't have to worry, I'm on birth control and I'm clean... but if you call me `sweetheart' one more time... you'll soon have every reason to worry!" she threatens, looking at him challengingly.  
"That's fine, but if you don't mind, I'd still like to fuck you in my bed." He evades and takes her mouth again.

They wash each other and Rey can't wait to get into his bed. She doesn't have to wait long for that either. After they step out of the shower and Ben has rubbed her and his hair dry with a towel, he pulls her by the hand into his bedroom.

He too has a four-poster bed, only his is much bigger than hers.  
Before they even reach the huge bed, they start kissing again and end up on the bedspread. Before they can get any further into removing any blankets, Ben's head is already sunk between her legs and, using his mouth and tongue, forces her first orgasm from her in no time.

When she emerges from her orgasmic fog, he is already lying on top of her and penetrating her.  
He really is huge and as he works his way into her inch by inch, she claws at his shoulders and scratches deep furrows in his skin.  
Once he is completely engulfed in hers, he barely gives her time to adjust. With deep and powerful thrusts, he makes her scream every time he touches a very special spot inside her that makes her roll her eyes into the back of her head.

It is wild and takes her completely. She had guessed right, Ben knows exactly what he is doing. And buried beneath his warm and muscular body, her mind is completely taken by him. There is no unredeemed soul begging her to help her, no naked Johnnie, no eyeless priest, no mother leaving her in a department store... Just this man holding her, preparing heaven for her, taking away all her worries for a short time.

When she cries out her salvation and he follows her shortly afterwards with a loud roar, she clings to him and is grateful to the gods that he does not, exhausted, collapse on top of her and crush her, but rolls to the side and pulls her with him. And so, she lies pressed against his side, gasping for air, and comes to rest again.

After a while she has to nod awake briefly, because she startles when Ben rudely pulls the covers forward from under her. A little sleepy, she gets up, stretches and yawns as Ben lies down.  
"Oh... I guess I'd better g…iiihhhhha!"  
Before she can finish her sentence, he pulls her into bed beside him and throws a blanket over her.

"Hey!" she protests as she turns on her side and tries to climb out of bed.  
"You must be tired! You should be sleeping!" he says with mischievousness in his voice, holding her with one arm.  
"I am tired too... I should go to `my' bed!" she babbles as she tries to free herself from his grip. But it is no use, he is just too strong.  
"You can stay in my bed though and sleep right here." He replies and has far less trouble holding her down than she has in trying to wriggle out of his arm.

Eventually she gives up and lets herself fall back onto her side. His arm is still wrapped around her middle and he spoons himself against her from behind.  
"All right!" she agrees, putting on a pout he can't see.  
With a contented hum, he gives her a kiss on the temple and slides his arm under the pillow where her head rests.

"Don't you get clingy!" she murmurs softly.  
"I'm not! I'm just tired..., just like you. Now go to sleep Rey!" he murmurs back, stroking her stomach with his thumb, eliciting a rapturous giggle from her.  
"Goodnight Ben!" she whispers, touching his hand that rests on her stomach.  
The last thing she notices before she falls asleep, exhausted, is the way he intertwines their hands.

_*Uuuuaabababab! Why is it so cold in here...? I fell asleep in Ben's bed... And he's like a walking heater... So why is it so bloody cold in here???? *_

Grumbling, Rey opens her eyes and realizes that the sun hasn't risen yet. The windows are closed, but it's as cold as if she were standing in a blizzard.  
Slowly she looks around and cannot believe her eyes for a moment.

Above Ben hovers a kind of... dark cloud... or rather a... A shadow! An ominous darkness and a terrifying coldness emanate from this apparition. Rey turns further around and realizes that Ben is sleeping fitfully. As if he is suffering in a dream without waking up from it. With blank determination she stares at the shadow until she recognizes it is responding to her.

"Get out!" she says in an angry and firm voice. And as if the sun were rising, the shadowy creature shifts and the first light of dawn illuminates the room.  
Ben lies still again and pulls Rey closer to him. She lets it happen and snuggles against his, now again, warm chest.

Reassured and sure that the shadow will not return that night, she quickly falls back asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An annoying beeping wakes Ben. Grumbling, he stirs, but the woman in his arms grumbles louder until her grumbling becomes words she repeats over and over.  
"Kill it! Kill it! Make it stop!" she yells.  
With an amused grin on his face, he leans towards his bedside cabinet and switches off his alarm clock. Then he turns back to Rey, who has curled up into a ball, and presses a kiss to her temple.

While he does his daily routine in the bathroom and takes a shower, he thinks about the fact that he hasn't heard the sound of his alarm clock for months. Actually, he wakes up from a nightmare every morning before the sun rises and spends the rest of the night in the gym to work off the oppressive feeling of the nightmare before he goes to the office.

But today, after this incredible night..., with this incredible woman....  
He even woke up so late that now he will be late for work. But he doesn't care... He feels better than he has in a long time. I wonder if it's because of her. He asks himself as he ties his tie in front of the bed.

Carefully he sits down on the edge of the bed and watches with amusement as she stretches and then turns around again to keep the daylight out of her face.  
"Mmmmhhh... Do you mind if I sleep on?" she mumbles.  
He chuckles and pushes a small curl behind her ear.  
"Go back to sleep...!" he replies, watching her for a while longer... until.  
"Don't you have to go to work or something?" she asks sleepily but with a definite hint of jest in her voice.

Ben chuckles softly. "You naughty little thing, you!"  
Getting up, he tells her he'll be back for dinner and will bring pizza.  
But before he has left the room she says, clearly audible, "I prefer sushi though!"  
Smiling happily, he leaves the house, actually looking forward to today.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As much as she resists... eventually she really wakes up. Groaning, Rey turns back to the window, almost scared out of her wits if she wasn't already used to such spasms.

"Hello Leia!" she greets the older woman standing in front of the window who seems to be watching her.  
Rey notes that she looks annoyed. Which, in her opinion, she has no reason to be at all.

"Sleep well?" the ghost asks, with a definite dose of venom in her voice.

_*Oh yes! She's angry! *_

"Yes, thank you!" she replies stubbornly, ignoring her obvious foul mood.  
"Can you maybe tell me what sleeping with him will do for him, Rey?!"  
Rey sits up and stretches.  
"I don't know!" she yawns out.  
"But it helps me..., because he's really good in bed, you know!" she adds cheekily, returning her challenging look.

Leia seems visibly incensed by this answer and is already thinking about striking back.  
"Tell me, Leia! What actually bothers you more...that I'm sleeping with him...or that I'm sleeping with him and he's your son?"

The caught look, of the older woman confirms Rey's guess.  
Leia is Ben's mother.

But why didn't she admit that from the beginning...? And... what else is she hiding?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there?  
> I hope you enjoyed the chapter again.  
> Have a nice day.  
> Stay well, everyone!
> 
> Your Lori ♥


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No sooner has Rey solved one mystery than new ones appear.  
> Maybe the owner of the Book&Cofe store, Leia sent her to, can help her.

As was to be expected, Leia had no idea that Rey would find out about the connection between her and Ben.  
While she was shocked at first, the older woman now looks stubbornly to the side and remains silent.

"Did you think I wouldn't notice?" asks Rey, yet not expecting an answer.  
"My son hasn't spoken to me... since before I died... for a very long time..." she finally confesses.  
"Why?"  
"He had his reasons... But now he's going down a path... that's hurting him."  
"You told me to help him... Does this have anything to do with that shadow that hovered over him last night?"

Startled, Leia looks back up at Rey.  
"You saw him? Are you, all right? Did he do anything to you?" she asks worriedly, taking a few steps towards her.  
"Well, slow down..., Yes, yes and no! I saw him, I'm fine and he didn't do anything to me. I just felt like he was hurting Ben."  
Thoughtfully, Rey lowers her head and goes over the events of dawn again in her mind.

"It noticed me... maybe... I don't know... Maybe only I can see that... But why did it attach itself to Ben?"  
"I'm not sure about that... on this side I don't hear very much about them, only that they are called, the shadows."  
"There are several of them?" asks Rey in surprise.  
"Certainly, yes!"  
"But if they belong to the ghost world, why can't you find out anything about them?"  
"Because the ghosts are afraid of them."  
Astonished, Rey looks up at her. Leia's expression has changed. She is still looking into the distance and looks worried.  
"Can they hurt ghosts?"  
The older woman exhales heavily.  
"I'm afraid so."

This is not unusual. A ghost can interact with another. She has even seen it happen when two souls who never met in life fell in love with each other after death.  
Yet they don't actually harm each other... But those shadows.

A shiver runs down Rey's spine and makes her shiver.  
"Alright... at least I know what the problem is for now." She says cheerfully as she stands up and stretches with relish.  
"Can't you put some clothes on first?" asks Leia, looking at her disapprovingly.  
"My clothes are all in my room..., almost you forgot, this is your son's room." Teases her cheekily.  
"Well, then, go nip up to yours and put some clothes on before the butler sees you like that!”  
Rey looks over her shoulder at Leia and grins.  
"I think I want to go and have a shower first..., there's still your boy's cum stuck between my legs... Getting a bit uncomfortable as time goes on!"

With her head held high, Leia looks after the young woman and has to remember her good upbringing not to throw insults after her as Rey walks into the bathroom, giggling.

After showering and wrapped in a towel, Rey steps out of the bathroom and almost runs through Leia, who seems to have been waiting for her.  
"I might have a suggestion." Says the latter matter-of-factly.  
"I'm already using contraception... but thanks for the tip." She simply shrugs Leia off.

"That's not what I mean, but... good to know." She follows her, popping up again and again in Rey's path.  
"About the shadows... If you want to do something about them, you need to find out a little more about them first..."  
"Know your enemy as you know your friend?" explains Rey.  
"Yes."  
"And where am I supposed to find out about shadow beings that normal people can't see and are handled by spirits like, `The ones whose names must not be spoken'?" she jokes.

"There's a woman in town... An old friend who deals with these things. I'm sure she'll be able to help you."  
"How did you know someone who deals with this world?" asks Rey curiously.  
"She was an old friend of my late husband. But she was also very dear to me."  
"All right... Finn will be able to drive me into town. Maybe it'll do some good." Agreeing, Rey steps into her room and gets dressed.

After a (again, very) hearty breakfast, she calls Finn and arranges for him to drive her into town that morning, to the address Leia gave her.  
It turns out that the address is a Book & Cofe store. Maz 's Castle Store, owned by Maz Kanata, is written on the sign above the entrance.

Maz Kanata is an older woman with thick horn-rimmed glasses and very wise eyes. She sits behind her counter and considers Rey with what could almost be described as X-ray vision.  
"Come on in! Welcome to Maz's Castle! What can I do for you, young lady?" is Rey's friendly greeting.

"Er... yes. I'm looking for something special." She starts off vaguely.  
"And how special is special?" the woman grins at her.  
"Well... I'm interested in the spirit world."  
"The spirit world?!" exclaims Maz in amazement.  
"You mean heaven... or hell too?! You'll find the Bible and similar occult tomes further back, next to the fantasy novels."

"I don't mean heaven or hell. I'm talking about the world into which unredeemed souls enter. The world that is separated from our world only by a delicate veil."  
Maz listens with interest and looks at Rey more closely.  
"If you look at it correctly, our world is connected to several other realities. What exactly are you looking for?"  
Rey feels as if she is under a microscope as Maz studies her. Then the old woman jumps off her stool and Rey realize that she is even much smaller than she had initially thought.

"If you live long enough, you see the same eyes in different people. Your eyes, see more than other people's...you can see them!" she whispers at the end, with an urgency that makes Rey nervous.

Rey is unsure what to say in response. Normally, she's not so quick to trumpet that she can see ghosts. Especially not with a creepy old biddy she doesn't even begin to know.  
So, she decides to play dumb and cover up the truth.

"What can I see...?" she whispers in an equally dramatic voice, pretending to stifle a laugh.  
"The super specials on Tuesday?" continues Rey, giggling a little.  
She thinks for a moment her plan will work and Maz will row back disappointed...but....

"Ghosts!" she says solemnly.

_*No! That diversion didn't work for once then! *_

"You can see them... and you're helping them cross over! Don't deny it! Come on!" she continues talking, turning and walking away.  
Rey follows her to the back of the shop. Behind a door is a small office, with a desk, a shelf and a sofa. There are papers scattered all over the sofa and the desk. Writings and pictures, as well as handwritten notes. On the shelf are many older books and some ritual objects. Talismans, figurines, dream catchers and even a crystal ball.

"This is my little study room, excuse the mess. So... what do you want to know?" she asks, pointing to the shelf.  
"Well... I need information about... the shadows. I don't know any other name." Says Rey, deciding for herself that it's safe to trust her.

"About shadows?!" the old woman exclaims in amazement.  
"Well... I don't know any other name either but... you won't find out anything about her in any book. No one keeps anything about them..."  
Rey had almost suspected it. If people can't see them and ghosts don't talk about them... Why are they so horrible?

"Then how can I find out about them?"  
"I can tell you what I know... but it's not much either."  
"I'll take what I can get. I have to help a man who is being tormented by a shadow."  
"Well, how about we sit down in the shop with a coffee and talk in peace?"

With a simple black coffee in hand (Simple coffee! No milk, no foam, no syrup or sugar! Just plain fucking coffee!) she sits down with Maz at a table in the back and listens to all she knows about the shadows.

Maz tells her that the shadows are dark beings who sow fear and displeasure in people and want to draw unredeemed souls into the darkness.  
In her opinion, shadows are created from particularly malicious ghosts who refuse to achieve peace of mind in order to go into the light.  
Rumour has it that the shadows are very interested in ghost seers, like Rey, because they obviously act against them and lead the souls into the light.

"There are others like me?" asks Rey in surprise.  
"But of course! Did you think you were the only one in the world who guides souls into the light? Ghost seers are everywhere in the world, just like unredeemed souls."  
Rey didn't know there were others like her. All her life she felt alone because she thought she was alone with her ghosts in their world.

"Could your mother or father see ghosts?" asks Maz, sipping her coffee latte.  
There it is again..., that typical `oh-that-does-make-me-feel-sorry' theme.  
"I grew up in an orphanage and I don't know my parents." Rey replies dejectedly.  
"Is that so...?!" says Maz with her cup to her mouth, thinking for a while.

"Who put you up to me anyway?" she now asks.  
Rey doesn't have to think long to tell her the truth or not.  
"A spirit sent me here. She said you might know something about the shadows."  
"Hmm, I see."  
But there's something that's been burning on Rey's mind ever since she knew there were other people who could see ghosts.  
"Can you see them too, Maz?"  
Now the little woman looks at her more closely again and smirks a little.  
"No. But I can sense them." Then she looks to the side with a kind smile.

"For example, I know there is a ghost in this shop." She says, looking down a row where indeed, all along, a ghost has been standing, studying the spines of books.  
Involuntarily, Rey looks to the woman.  
"Can you describe her to me?" asks Maz.  
"It's a woman..., with purple hair..., willowy. And I think she finds something wrong with the order of the books on this shelf." Rey reports, and has to laugh as the woman shakes her head in annoyance, at the books.

"Purple hair?! Amilyn! She was the previous owner... and a good friend."  
She watches as the ghost woman looks to them, gives her a friendly wink and suddenly disappears. She does seem like a nice woman.

"Who is the ghost that sent you to me and is she here?" asks Maz, snapping her out of her observations.  
You know that game... where you're supposed to answer questions with the first thing you think of...? Quick-fire answers, so to speak. That's what's happening with Rey right now. She answers without thinking.

"Her name is Leia... and she wants me to help her son. It is he who is being tormented by a shadow."  
"Ben Solo is being chased by a shadow?" she asks, shocked. Then she puts a knuckle to her mouth and thinks for a long time.  
Rey shifts uneasily in her chair, waiting anxiously for another reaction from Maz.

"Is she here right now?" she asks, looking around involuntarily.  
Rey doesn't need to look around. She knows Leia had already left her at the mansion.  
"No. She's rarely around me."  
Maz just nods. Then she gets up and goes to a wall where some picture frames are hanging, climbs onto a small stool and takes down one of the pictures.  
When she comes back to Rey, she hands her the picture. On it is Leia, clearly younger but just as beautiful and with just as sublime an aura as she has today.  
"Who are those men next to her?" asks Rey, pointing to the two men beside her. One tall, with a sympathetic crooked smile and one, slightly shorter, with golden blond hair.  
"Those are her twin brother, Luke Skywalker..." she points to the blond man.  
"...And Han Solo, he was their best friend and later Leia's husband."  
"Ben's father." Says Rey, looking at the man more closely. In his smile, she thinks she recognizes Ben. That crooked smile that makes her knees go weak.

What she doesn't realize is that Maz is watching her closely, trying to figure something out.  
"So, you've met Ben Solo?" she asks suddenly.  
"You mean Kylo Ren?" asks Rey back, putting the picture back down.  
"Yes, you've met him!"  
"Why haven't Leia and Ben talked more?" asks Rey freely.  
"Hm... I don't know. Didn't Leia say anything?" she blocks out. She can clearly see that the shopkeeper is keeping something from her.  
"Leia doesn't talk about herself very much."  
Maz just nods and then has to deal with a customer concerning the shop.

When a larger group of teenage hipsters come into the shop and all order a coffee to go, Rey decides to help her and for the next two hours, Rey stands behind the counter and prepares coffee, while Maz stands behind the cash register and checks out the coffee and the books.  
Rey has worked on coffee machines before and the shiny red La Cimbali, with two portafilters, a milk frother, a water frother and a hot tap is a real gem.

"You seem to know your way around one of these things." Praises Maz as another group of people leave the shop.  
"I've worked in a diner or two before."  
"I could use someone like you around here. You know coffee and you make quite a competent impression. Are you good with books, too?"  
"I can read and I know where the front and back of a book is." She jokes and winks at Maz.  
She giggles and shakes her head.  
"Think about it. You can do well here. I can't pay you the world but there's a little flat above the shop you can move into."

Rey is taken aback. She's had many jobs and been offered settling down before. But she has never been accepted like she is here. Maz knows her secret. She could live an independent life and settle down.

And besides... there's... Ben?

After she asks Finn to pick her up, the two of them indulge in a salad and eat it on the cliff again, just like the day before. But this time Rey doesn't feel like talking much and just listens to Finn's tales about his friend Poe, who is a hip make-up artist and hairstylist and counts the biggest names in Chandrila's high society among his clients.  
She listens to him intently, but her mind keeps wandering back to Maz, to her offer, to the shadows threatening Ben, and to Leia and her secrets.

When will Rey finally learn the whole truth?

When Ben returns in the early evening, he finds Rey sitting in the wing chair in the music room with a book in her hand. And as he greets her, something strange happens.  
Ben leans over her, pushes her head up with two fingers under her chin and kisses her in greeting, her hand touching the back of his head and she returns the kiss. It is a fleeting, light kiss. The kind of kiss a man gives his partner after a day's work to show her he's happy to be back with her... only..., Rey isn't his partner, she's a dedicated fake girlfriend who's just pretending....

At the same moment, they both realize that they have made a mistake and that, very slowly... the line between, `just pretending' and `being serious', is cracking.  
For a long time, the two look at each other and try to figure out what is happening to them.  
Yes, a lot has changed very quickly between them and Rey can hardly keep up...

But she is the first to regain consciousness.  
"You brought food?" she asks gently, pointing to the bag Ben has set down on the floor.  
"Uh, yeah." He says, clearing his throat and straightening up.  
"What do you think about Netflix and Chill?" he asks, offering her his hand to help her out of the chair.  
"Sounds good, what do you suggest?" she asks, letting him pull her out of the chair.  
"What are you into?" he asks back.  
"Well...," she prints a little and then admits, "... I like The Fresh Prince..." she confesses and blushes.  
Ben smirks and looks to the side.  
"I liked that one when I was a kid."  
After another silent moment in which they look at each other for a long time, they finally get moving and go to his room with the laptop. On his bed, they set up a sushi buffet and turn on Netflix.

Since they can't decide on a season (, Rey doesn't like the first season because the settings are still different there than in the other seasons, Ben doesn't like the episodes with Janet Hubert and would rather watch the ones with Daphne Maxwell Reid,) they decided to each take turns picking one of their favorite episodes. So, they laughed at the episodes, The Butler did it, Eyes on the prize and Will's Misery and Rey cried at, Papa's Got A Brand-new Excuse and Bullets Over Bel-air.

At some point, when the leftover sushi has been cleared away and the evening has long passed into night, Rey falls asleep, snuggled up by Ben's side, and only wakes up again when he helps her out of her clothes and puts one of his shirts on her.  
This time she doesn't protest and lets him pull her into his bed where she very quickly drifts off into the land of dreams again.

And that night the cold does not return. Both Ben and Rey sleep through until morning without being disturbed by a shadow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ben wakes up first. Outside, the sun is already rising and with a glance at the clock, he realizes that his alarm clock will start its annoying beeping again in half an hour. For the sake of peace and quiet, he switches the alarm off beforehand and turns to Rey, who is still sleeping peacefully beside him.

He admires her calm figure. The beautiful, sun-kissed skin, those lovely freckles that adorn her nose and also gather in a few other places on her body. The shiny auburn hair with the slight reddish tinge and those slightly parted peach lips.

Very gently, he strokes her cheek with his fingertips, causing her to stir. She comes to and opens her eyes, fluttering. And she wouldn't be Rey if she didn't tear down this enchanting image in one fell swoop.  
"Are you practicing being a perverted peeping tom... or why are you watching me sleep?"

Ben gives a growling laugh and runs his hand further down, over her neck, her shoulder, to under the covers and further.  
"No... Actually, I was just waiting for you to wake up so we could still talk." He says with a smug smile.  
"Oh yeah, but what your hand is doing down there isn't exactly encouraging my need for conversation!" she jokes, leaning in to stop him from saying anything more with a kiss.

She tastes so delicious and is at the same time yielding and stubborn. And it's incomprehensible to him but... it feels like he's been connected to her forever. There is something that makes him feel like they are intertwined on a deep level, through an invisible bond.

He takes his time with her. Every inch of her body he wants to explore, taste and tease. He enjoys every little sound she makes. Her little sighs, her moans and gasps.  
When she first comes, he watches her afterward in her afterglow. She smiles at him soulfully and pulls him to her by the hair, forcing him into a passionate kiss, which she herself eventually ends, saying in her adorable British accent that he's bound to be late for work.  
She's right but... he isn't done with her yet.

(If she grew up in America, in an orphanage... how does she get such an adorable accent? He'll have to ask her that sometime... Surely there's a story behind it!)

Two orgasms (at her) later and about an hour after his alarm clock would have rung, he ties his tie in front of the mirror and keeps looking through the reflection at Rey, who, dressed only in underwear, is combing her hair.

"What did you actually do yesterday? You had Finn take you to town, didn't you?!"  
"Oh...!" She responds, freezing in mid-motion.  
"Um... I went to a bookshop and... had a nice chat with the shopkeeper..."  
Ben realizes there is something else on the tip of her tongue and waits. He already knows full well that Rey recoils when pressed.  
"She offered me a job with her... So, I could stay in town..."

To Ben's surprise, he is delighted at this news and almost hopeful.  
"She has also offered me to move into the small flat above the shop. So..., when this is over, who..."  
She is silent for a moment and Ben knows why. They've never really worked out how long she's going to play his girlfriend and how this is supposed to end.

"You can stay here too!" slips out Ben thoughtlessly and immediately regrets it.  
Rey, too, seems surprised.  
"Well..., I mean, if you want. It's not like I'm suffering from a lack of space here..." he tries to explain himself and swallows hard.

_*Come on! You know what to say...! *_

"But with a flat above the shop, you'd definitely have a short way to work." He jokes, and could slap himself.

_*No! It wasn't! *_

And as you would expect, unease forms on Rey's face.  
He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. When he looks at her again, the young woman has pressed her lips together.

"Listen, Rey! What I want to tell you is..." but he can't continue.  
His mobile phone rings, distracting them both.  
"You should answer it, it's probably important!" suggests Rey. Ben can hear in her voice that she is hurt.

On the phone is his secretary Rose, who tells him that Mister Snoke has turned up at the office and has already asked for him.  
Annoyed, he hangs up and watches Rey who is buttoning up a blouse.  
"Can we talk more when I get back tonight?" he asks, giving her a (what he hopes is) puppy dog look.  
Rey is silent for a moment and then says, "Do we have anything to talk about then?" she asks defiantly.  
Ben takes another deep breath and gathers all his courage.  
"Yes, we do!" He says quickly, gives her a kiss on the forehead and hurriedly leaves the bedroom.

Tonight, he will talk to her. He will finally tell her how he feels....  
He will tell her that he wants to keep her with him....  
But how do you say that to a woman you've known for barely a week?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there!  
> Did you guys have fun with the chapter?  
> If the thought crossed anyone's mind..., yes, I love La Cimbalie coffee machines!  
> And I would so love to work on a coffee machine again... preferably at my place of work... (Hotel & Restaurant) (Fucking Lockdown!).
> 
> Well, stay well everyone and enjoy the day!  
> Your Lori ♥


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At the appointment with Mrs Shipping, Rey can help her, but will inevitably harm Ben.  
> How will he react when he learns that she is preventing his deal?

Rey arrives at Sue Shipping's house a little early. It is located in the affluent part of Chandrila. A two-storey small villa in ochre, with a grey roof and large windows. In the driveway are small, round-cut green bushes and in front of the door, are two pots of azaleas which bloom towards her in a soft pink.

Sue greets her at the door and leads her into the living room, where a small table with tea and biscuits is already prepared. Through the large window, you can see into the back garden, which is decorated with the most beautiful flowers and makes a particularly colorful picture.

"You have a really charming garden, Sue!" praises Rey, watching birds splashing in the water at a bird bath.  
"Thank you so much... It's a hobby I inherited from my mother."

And as if on cue, Marie Beth emerges from a corner. Still dressed in her nightgown, she watches Sue with a loving gaze and winks encouragingly at Rey.  
The hostess pours her a very strong Assam and offers her milk and sugar.

"Tell me, Sue! When did your mother pass away?" asks Rey freely.  
"So, you already guessed that's why I asked you here?!"  
"It was obvious. Besides... you never told me she died..."  
"Yes... I didn't..."  
With her lips pressed together, Sue stares at her cup.  
"My mother passed away about a year ago... It was a heart attack."  
"I guess... she fell asleep peacefully?" asks Rey cautiously, seeing Marie Beth nodding in the corner of her eye.  
"How do you know that?" asks Sue suspiciously. "Did you check up on me?"

Rey experiences this often. Surviving relatives, already aware that Rey has a special insight into the deceased, initially refuse to acknowledge the possibility.  
"No Sue... and you already know that." Says Rey seriously, watching the expression on Sue's face.

"Are you some kind of... medium or something?" she asks more directly.  
"Something like that, I guess."  
"So..., you can contact her? At... a séance?"  
"No... I can see ghosts and talk to them..." she says quietly, waiting.  
"Then she is here right now...? Where???" asks Sue, looking around the room, searching.  
"Sue, I suspect she's here all the time... and you know it."  
The first tears form in Sue's eyes.  
"I suspected it... It's like she's still watching over me..."

After Sue has wiped away the first tears, Rey tells her from her mother that she is very proud of her and always has been. That she is no longer in pain and feels fitter than ever. And that Sue needed to find her own strength, which she has had inside her all along.

"I know what she means." Says Sue, starting to crumple the handkerchief in her hand.  
"Mother has always been against selling the company but we have no choice. We are on the verge of bankruptcy. In a fortnight we won't be able to pay wages and would have to start laying people off."  
"Nothing else would happen if the company was sold to First Order." Marie Beth says angrily.  
"Isn't there any other way to counteract the company being broken up?" asks Rey, knowing that she doesn't really know anything about such things.  
(BTW Neither do I for that matter so, sorry if anything doesn't make sense!).

"I'm afraid we have no choice. At least this way the employees can get severance pay..."  
"No!" interjects Marie Beth and Rey has to silence Sue to, listen to the ghost.  
"The company should get a government contract. With the profits from that, the company would be able to stay afloat and look for new projects!"

"Your mother is asking for a government contract that could save the company?" asks Rey, turning to Sue.  
"I know what she means!" She exclaims excitedly.  
"But First Order made sure the contract was put on hold. We went around all the banks to get a loan but everywhere First Order had a hand in it and cut us off." Sue complains and throws her hands in front of her face.

"Frozen?" asks Marie Beth.  
"I can do something about that... but Sue has to fight. I know she feels weak but there's the same strength in her that my father used to create the company out of nothing. Tell her not to worry about the government contract! But to save the company, she must become the leader that has always been inside her!"  
Rey nod smiling. "Yes, I will."  
And then Marie Beth is gone too.

"What? What did she say?" asks Sue in wonder, wide-eyed.  
Rey tells her that the frozen order is no longer an issue and that she should use the power that has always lain dormant within her, the power that her grandfather also possessed and with which he founded this company.

Sue promises her to find a way to make salvation a reality and wipes the last tears from her face.  
"But tell me, dear! What about Mister Ren? You are involved with him, aren't you?! What will he say to you talking me out of buying it?"

_*Yes... What will Ben actually say to that? *_

"That remains to be seen. But more important for now is that you save your company!" she says with a smile, trying to suppress her unease about Ben.

A short while later, Rey says goodbye to her.  
"I thank you... Rey! You are a very special person and this gift you have... keep it... It's your light!"

A word that has been running through Rey's mind a lot lately... Light. Maz too spoke of the shadows, abhorring the ghost seers because they lead souls into the light. A few months ago, she had met the ghost of a young man, who said to her that she was surrounded by a special light... Now Rey wonders if he was just saying that as a metaphor or if his words meant something more.

But Sue is right. She will have to deal with Ben now. He's not going to be thrilled that she ruined his deal.  
And this after he'd been so... generous this morning. It had visibly bothered him that she planned to move into the flat above the shop....  
But she's just playing the girlfriend?!

Isn't she?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ben's working day has been extremely monotonous so far.  
After he arrived at the company, Rose, his hard-working secretary, greeted him with a coffee and the latest documents on the current financial situation of the Shipping company.

Things are going well. In less than two weeks Shipping will give in and sell their company. Any bank that would lend to them is under the thumb of First Order and the order the government has put in place has been suspended until further notice.

That is exactly what he is about to tell Mr. Snoke, who is already waiting for him in his office.  
But even though he should be used to it by now after all these years, it always annoys him when Snoke reprimands him.  
Kylo Ren may be the unfortunate leader of the First Order Corporation, but Viktor Snoke is still in charge. And he makes everyone feel it.

After working Snoke off, he and his team go over the numbers and review which parts of the Shipping company will be split off and sold off first.

Ben knows this will cost a lot of people their jobs, but he also knows how Snoke feels about such concerns.

_"Nobody forced them to work for a weakening company. They can easily look for a new job. Show more strength Ren! Or must I assume that there is too much of your father in you after all?"_

This sentence drives Ben wild every time.  
He hardly thinks about him... or his mother. They are weak... and never realized the potential in him... they never did. But Snoke did. And he nurtured him until he was ready and stepped up to the top of First Order.

But as soon as he steps into his office after the meeting, it happens again....  
Just for a moment... and then it's gone again. Spellbound, he looks at the spot... and yet sees nothing. To ground himself, he clenches his fists again and again until he is aware of everything in his office.  
There was nothing there! He saw nothing! He is not like that!  
All these years it has worked well... why is it so hard for him lately...?

After lunch, he sends Rose to a fashion boutique and has the buyers put together a selection of evening dresses to bring to his house the next day.  
He and Rey would attend a charity gala the next night, to save the seas. He would officially introduce Rey to society as his girlfriend and would finally be free of those countless ambiguous compliments from moneyed women.

Rey.  
His Rey!  
He had her checked out. As she put it, she grew up in an orphanage and had since travelled from one city to the next. Her trail can be traced from Chicago, through Chattanooga and New Orleans, Fort Worth and Oklahoma City, Albuquerque and Salt Lake City, from where she then came to Chandrila. She has never been guilty of anything and has no criminal record in any of those cities, which Ben finds amazing. Considering the shenanigans, he got up to at that age....

Oh God! She is whole 10 years younger than him... but she fits to him so perfectly!  
She's seen a lot and certainly experienced a lot. But she is here now and Ben will do everything in his power to give her a longer stay in Chandrila.  
Even if he has to allow her not to live in his house.

But he could not bear it if she did not stay with him. The first few nights, he had watched her sleep regularly... It gave him a certain kind of peace.  
She sighs softly in her sleep, which always makes him smile. After the third night, and especially after dinner at the restaurant, he knew he wanted more than just to watch her sleep, like a perverted peeping tom. He wanted to hold her, feel her steady breaths and touch her face when she had bad dreams.  
When she had rejected him in the forest, he thought he would go mad. He wanted this woman so much and she... rejected him. But then she gave him this gift and he didn't waste a moment.

Even if she went to her room to sleep, he would not miss the chance to carry her to his room while she slept and hold her in his bed.  
Deep down... Ben knows that's exactly how it's supposed to be. Rey belongs to him and he belongs to Rey!  
But where does that come from?

Late in the afternoon, his intercom buzzes.  
"Mister Ren! Misses Shipping is here and wants to talk to you!" informs the serious voice of Rose.  
"Send, her in!" he orders, closing his laptop.

Misses Shipping, with her flaming red hair and necklace with that strange stone Rey recognized as red jasper enters his office. Friendly she smiles at him and a feeling arises in Ben that this visit will not make him happy.

"A very good day to you Mrs. Shipping! To what do I owe the honor?" he greets her politely and waits.  
"I am merely here out of kindness to inform you, before it goes viral, that my husband and I decline and we will not sell them our company!"  
Ben doesn't pardon an expression. But inwardly he wonders where this woman suddenly gets the guts to talk to him like that.

"I guess I just misheard..." he tries to evade, but is interrupted by her.  
"You heard quite right! I will not allow my grandfather's life's work to be smashed by you."  
"And how do you intend to do that? The banks won't give you any more loans and soon the company will be on the verge of bankruptcy!"  
"We are expecting an order from the government."  
"This one has been frozen!" insists Ben firmly.  
"Are you sure about that?"

Ben already wants to continue talking when, as if on cue, the phone rings.  
Suspiciously, he picks it up. It is his colleague Hux, who tells him that his old university colleague, who works in the government's contracting office, has heard that the contract he had put on hold for him has been released.  
The bid is going out as early as tomorrow morning and there is no stopping it.

Ben calmly puts the phone back and stares more closely at the woman in front of him.  
"How did you know?" he asks with underlying annoyance.  
"Just a hunch."  
Ben snorts, crosses his arms and turns to the window.

"You know you still have a long way to go?"  
"Yes... It's a marathon, not a sprint! That' s what my grandfather used to say. But I am ready and I will fight for my legacy." She says solemnly.  
"Where did the sudden fighting spirit come from?" he asks, still calm and not looking at her.  
"To be perfectly honest... It's because of your young friend."

"Rey?!" he asks in amazement, turning to her.  
"Yes... She came to tea with me today and..." Sue looks off into the distance thoughtfully, trying to find the right words.  
"She really is a very special person! But you'll have noticed that yourself."  
Eventually she realizes her mistake and hastily adds, "But for heaven's sake you mustn't be angry with her for it! She did the right thing and she certainly doesn't want to hurt you... But because of her, I've become aware of my own strength and... she's given me an idea of how we can do business after all."  
"I'm all ears."

Sue Shipping tells him that his company can help her out with a small cash injection and he could see the same profit... but just with a year's delay.  
Ben has to admit that the idea is great. Building something up instead of tearing it down. But he also knows the answer Snoke would have to that. Despite all the benefits and the possibility of saving thousands of jobs, this insatiable monster would insist on breaking it up.

"I find your proposal very tempting, but I have to think about it."  
"I understand that. Give it time, it's quite a break after all. I will make my decision official tomorrow at the gala. Will I see you there?" she asks.  
"Yes..."  
"Will you bring Rey?" she asks, cautiously hopeful.  
"I hope so..." he says calmly and sees the woman off from his office.

Then he stands by the window for a long time, lost in thought, looking out at the sea that brings calm waves to the shore.

_*Rey... What did she do? *_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rey would never admit that she was dreading Ben's arrival... But she wouldn't jump for joy to meet him either.  
When she hears his car in the driveway, she is back in the music room, curled up on the armchair.  
She hears him enter and call out to her. "Rey?!"  
His voice doesn't sound angry.

She's not sure if she should answer, so she waits.  
He calls out a few more times until she hears his footsteps approaching. Then he enters the room and Rey thinks he has noticed her.

Without saying anything or looking at her, he walks further into the room. Exhaling deeply, he loosens his tie, takes off his jacket and places it on the covered piano. Then he pushes the cloth aside from the piano stool and sits down.  
He leans his elbows on his knees and puts his fingertips together.

Silently, Rey wonders if he already knows his deal has fallen through.  
"How was your day?" he asks quietly.

_*Oh... Maybe he doesn't know yet...? *_

"Um... quite nice... We had nice weather and I went for a walk down the beach at sunset." Informs her blithely.  
"About sunset, I had a visit from Sue Shipping..."

_*Oh crap! He does know! *_

"I..." she begins, biting her lower lip because she just doesn't know what to say to him, how to defend herself... if she even needs to defend herself....  
But eventually she exhales in resignation and closes her eyes.  
"Are you angry with me?" she asks quietly, inwardly preparing herself for the worst.  
"Funny..." he says, slightly amused.

_*Funny...? Why funny? Is it funny that I haven't packed my things and moved out yet? *_

"Don't be mad at you, that's what Mrs. Shipping kept asking me to do."

_*Uh... Thanks, Sue...! For what it's worth. *_

"No, I'm not mad at you!" he says gently, smiling at her.  
"To be perfectly honest..., I don't know how I feel about that... But I have to agree with Sue Shipping. You are a very special person! And I also think you did the right thing."

Astonished, Rey looks at him and recognises a very special seriousness in him.  
Then he smiles.  
"Have you been to the tower yet?" he asks suddenly.

On her first morning in the mansion, Rey had found another staircase on the first floor, closed off by a locked door. Ben leads her by the hand to this door and takes a key lying on the doorframe and unlocks it.

Behind it is an attic where discarded furniture, old boxes of clothes and antique toys are stored along the sides.  
In the middle of the room, a small spiral staircase leads into a hole in the ceiling that floods it with soft light.

Ben pulls her to the stairs and asks her to climb them. He follows her and after a few steps she finds herself in a small tower. It is glazed on all sides and offers a wonderfully enchanting view down the coast, towards the city. Further to the east you can see forested mountains and to the west... The sea!  
She has never seen the sea like this before. It is almost completely calm and she can see the stars and the moon reflected in the water.

Ben, who is suddenly standing very close behind her, whispers in her ear: "You rarely get a view like this here. It's usually stormy here by the sea."  
"It's beautiful here." She confesses and allows Ben to hug her from behind and take a deep breath from her hair.

So, they stand there for a while, watching the small waves lapping evenly on the beach.  
"Listen. I'd be happy if you stayed in town... And I can understand if you want to live your own life and, like you said, move into the little flat above the shop." Whispers Ben quietly.  
Rey is touched by his words and yet knows he still wants to say something, so she waits.

After a few minutes, during which she can practically grasp his pondering, he adds very quietly, "I'd like you to stay with me, too, though." He finally confesses, and Rey is glad he's standing behind her and can't see that she's fighting back tears right now.

Once she's sure her voice won't break, she jokes, "I told you not to get clingy!"  
"Well sweetheart, too late!" he breathes, turning her to face him.  
"I also told you not to call me swe…!" but she can't finish that sentence. Ben silences her with a kiss. He hugs her and pulls her up so high that she barely touches the ground beneath her feet.

And that's exactly how Rey feels at the moment. Like she's floating above the earth. The only thing keeping her on the ground is his soft hair, which slips between her fingers as she pulls him closer and closer to her.

The rest of the night they hardly exchanged a word with each other... No! Their mouths were used for other... more urgent things. But why should they talk? What should they have been talking about? Rey was sure she would soon have to tell him she sees ghosts. But that would only have ruined everything that night! She would tell him... someday, but not today.

And Ben, he would have to trust her with his secrets at some point. He would have to tell her that he had not agreed with Snoke's business practices for a long time... That she was like a life preserver for him in stormy dark seas and saved him from drowning. But even that would be going too far today.  
No! Tonight, they would only enjoy each other and tell each other in a different way how they feel about each other.

The next morning, they wake up almost at the same time. Even though they have hardly slept during the night, the light of the first rays of the sun wakes them up. Rey is half lying on Ben's chest and has even drooled a little on his shoulder.  
But he is not angry with her... Why should he be? Because of him, she can drool on him wherever she wants... even if it sounds a little disgusting.

"Did you sleep well?" he asks with that crooked smile she likes so much.  
"Thanks... you too?"  
"When you're with me, I sleep extra well." He confesses, kissing her forehead.

"What I forgot to ask..." he calls to her from the bathroom a little later as he is brushing his teeth and she is putting on a pair of pants.  
"Do you actually know how to dance?" he asks, toothbrush in mouth.  
Rey stumbles and goes into the bathroom.  
"What an unusual question... What kind of dance? Cha Cha, Boogie Woogie, Squar Dance... or the ever-popular Twister? I could do that last one."

Snorting away, Ben splatters his mirror with toothpaste foam before laughing out loud, nearly choking on his own spit.  
After watching the spectacle for a moment, she approaches him, dressed only in her jeans and bra, grabs a rag and wipes the toothpaste residue from his face.

"We're going to a fundraiser tonight." He reports, wiping the splatter off the mirror.  
"Oh... Ok! And is Finn driving me back into town to shop later? I don't think the dress I wore the other day is quite right for such a fancy event."  
"I agree but you'd better stay in today..." he says kindly, but Rey senses there's something else behind it.  
"I already asked Rose yesterday to have a selection of dresses picked out for you. Also, a stylist will come here and get you ready."

"Who's Rose?!" asks Rey, less amiably.  
Ben looks at her in amazement and has to weigh up for a moment whether he likes her jealousy enough to continue the game or whether he will put her out of her misery straight away.  
He decides on the (obviously) wrong path.  
"That's my hot secretary." He says with his wry smile that she so doesn't like at the moment.  
"Aha!" she makes snottily, turns and marches back to the bedroom.

"Then why don't you go with her if she's so hot?" she calls after him, upset.  
Yup, definitely the wrong way!  
Chuckling, he goes after her and watches as she puts her shirt on (seething with anger).  
"Could it be that you're jealous?" he asks jokingly, earning a bitter look in return that could make dead people... even deader....

"Where did you get that nonsense?" she asks, walking to the head of the bed.  
"Just a hunch... you seem kind of upset..., sweetie." he says, watching her grab a pillow.

With her lips pressed together, she takes a swing and throws the pillow at him.  
It lands with a `poof' sound at his head and then drops like a stone on the floor.  
"I told you not to call me sweetheart!" She exclaims angrily.  
"Well wait! You'll pay for that!" he shouts back and runs towards her, grinning.  
To save herself, she climbs onto the bed, giggling, hoping to make a run for it on the other side, but she doesn't get that far. With long strides he is quickly with her, grasps her waist with his arm and pulls her back.  
Then he throws her on her back and laughingly lies on top of her to hold her wriggling legs. He holds her wrists above her head with one hand and supports himself a little with the other hand so as not to crush her.

"Get off me, you giant calf!" she screams, continuing to try to free herself from his grip.  
At some point she notices that he is no longer laughing and she looks him in the face again. His cheeks are flushed and he is breathing heavily through his mouth.  
"Why would I do anything with anyone else when I have you?"

Rey can't answer any more. She wouldn't know how to respond either.  
He presses his lips to hers and after a moment pushes her mouth open to challenge her tongue to a passionate battle.  
But Rey does not give in and parries his tongue thrusts. In time he lets go of her wrists, turns on his back and pulls her with him. Now she is on top of him and his hands have unhindered access to her back, spine and ass.  
Just as one of his hands is about to move under her shirt, which has planned to fondle her beautiful breasts....

His mobile phone rings (how could it be otherwise).  
Groaning in annoyance, they break off the kiss and separate. Rey rolls off him and watches in annoyance as he reaches over to the bedside cabinet and grabs her new favorite foe.

*Stupid phone! *

Again, he's cited to the company and Rey suspects it has something, or everything, to do with the busted deal.  
With a queasy feeling, she watches by the window as his car disappears down the long driveway and wonders if he has a lot of trouble on his hands and... why shouldn't she leave the house today?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there!  
> As always, have a great day and I hope you enjoy the story.  
> Stay well!  
> Your Lori ♥


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At the Charity Gala, Rey gets into trouble and receives unexpected help.

As it turns out, the stylist preparing Rey for the gala is none other than Finn's friend Poe. He's a nice man with a charming smile and cute wild curls that would make any girl drool.

To her surprise, not only does he show up, but so does a nice young Asian woman named Rose.  
Ben has actually sent her his secretary... his hot secretary!  
And Rey thinks she's really hot. She has beautiful curves, a pretty pout and expressive eyes. And she's really nice.

The two women hit it off right away and have arranged not only to go shopping at the mall the next day, but colloquially, for the next life.

After getting a little closer, they ask Finn to bring them sandwiches in the afternoon and the four of them sit down in the glorious sunshine on the large lawn in front of the house where she first met Ben not even a week ago.  
At some point Rey notices another young Asian woman. A ghost. She looks like Rose, but seems a little older. When she notices that Rey can see her, she just asks briefly, "You see me?" and just smiles kindly after Rey answers the question with a subtle nod in the affirmative.

_*What a change! Usually the ghosts always want something from me... Very refreshing! *_ Rey thinks to herself and concentrates again on the conversations with the others.

The four of them get along very well and Rey feels... safe for the first time in a long time.  
But the relaxed mood ends abruptly as soon as Poe asks her where she's from.  
Rey swallows hard and struggles with her answer for a while.  
"I-I... I was... I came... from an orphanage in Illinois."

For a moment there is a dead silence. Finn and Rose stare at her, wide-eyed and mouths agape.  
"Cool! What was it like there?" asks Poe blithely, the only one not to make a face.  
This also seems to bring Finn and Rose back to their senses.  
"It... It was nice, actually." Admits Rey with a sheepish smile.  
"For a while, at least... We had a friendly home manager. She was British, with German-French roots and had taught us German and French besides school and took us to the cinema or museum."

"You speak German and French?" asks Finn, puzzled.  
"Oui! Pourquoi êtes-vous surprise?" asks Rey in perfect French.  
"Well... I'm just surprised... That the First Order leadership would show up with such educated young women... When otherwise they only go to a diner with hydrogen-blonded Barbies." He says and gives a loud laugh that Rey immediately has to join in.

She had almost forgotten about the blonde Barbie from Monday.  
Only Poe and Rose are on the fence, so Rey recounts her dinner experience with Brandy.  
Poe laughs as boisterously about it as Finn and her... but Rose seems hurt and just keeps quiet.

As it's getting late, they finish their picnic and go inside to get Rey ready for the gala.  
Poe and Rose have the selection of dresses ready in her room.  
Now Rey and Rose stand in the room holding dress after dress against her body, discussing the pros and cons of each.

At one point, as Rose brings forward a sky-blue dress with a sequined top, the ghost suddenly stands next to Rey.  
"Well, my little sister would look really quite adorable in that!" she says, almost making Rey jump to the side in shock.  
"What do you think of this?" asks Rose, oblivious.  
"Talk to her about Hux!" orders Rose's sister between them.  
"You, tell me...! About Hux..." starts Rey, embarrassed.  
"What?!" exclaims Rose, dropping the dress in shock.

_*Oh man! I don't believe it... *_

"You like him!" states Rey, and can tell by the colour of her counterpart's face that she's hit the bull's eye.  
"What...? I...! No... Well I mean..." she stammers, then lowers her head and meekly confesses: "Yeah."  
"But the guy showed up to this important dinner with a harlot!" protests Rey.  
"Well..., he's actually quite nice and when Mister Ren said he was coming to the dinner with his girlfriend and that he should kindly find himself a companion too..."

_*... he ordered a call girl! *_

Rose is still looking dejectedly at the floor and seems close to tears.  
Rey can't understand it. She's such a sweet girl... but she has horrible taste in men!

"I had been watching the play. When he was ordered to find an escort, he had not hesitated. He walked without diversions to his favorite’s workplace, stopped in front for a moment and... asked her for a coffee." Says the ghost with feigned drama.  
"What?" asks Rey impassively.

"Well..." starts Rose, who didn't catch Rey's outburst from a moment ago.  
"For a moment I thought he was going to come to me and ask me to accompany him... But then he just asked me for a cup of coffee." Says the young secretary, awakening in Rey the feeling of being in the wrong movie.

"That's exactly what I mean! He loves her, she loves him! But they're both too stupid or too cowardly to realize it. If you would just give her a little push then..." Rose's sister says, looking pleadingly at Rey.

_*It was just too good to be true... This ghost wants something from me too! *_

"You Rose! Will Mister Hux be at the party tonight too?" asks Rey freely.  
"Um... yes. And Mister Ren has forbidden him to appear in company. After Monday's disaster."  
Rey has to chuckle. It looks like Ben!

She thinks about it for a moment, looks around the room at all the clothes and wonders if she could get in trouble for it. The plan she's about to make is quite audacious but... It's for a good cause.

"Alright!!! POE!!!" she shouts, and a moment later hears the hurried footsteps of the stylist.  
"What's the matter, my little Kaskaskia-flower?"  
"You will not only prepare me for the gala, but Rose as well!" she instructs him, picking up the blue dress and holding it in front of Rose's body.  
She tilts her head, assessing that the dress will fit her perfectly.

And she is right. Poe puts her hair up artfully and gives her a light make-up that shows off her beautiful pout.  
Although Rose wanted to resist at first, she now stands in front of the mirror and looks at her adorable likeness.  
"Don't you start crying, love! If the make-up smudges, I'll be forever angry with you!" threatens Poe, who is busy fixing Rey's hair with a gas-bomb-like amount of hairspray.

Her hair is also pinned up and flowing back in gentle waves.  
Rey's dress is sleeveless, tight to the waist and then falls wide. It has a high collar and the black fabric is embroidered with many purple flowers that make Rey look a bit like a flower fairy.  
She also wears only light make-up and especially likes the sheer peach lip gloss.

"Finally! We're almost late already!" whines Finn, who has been waiting in the entrance area the whole time, playing Candy Crush on his mobile phone.  
"Hurry up, babe! Now get those two princesses to their ball before the pumpkin starts rotting!" says Poe, coming down the stairs behind the girls.

Finn's mouth drops open when he finally sees them.  
"Oh wow! Now if I wasn't gay... I'd bang you guys."  
"Very charming! You banger!" jokes Rey back.  
"Let's hope their princes think so too! Now hurry up! You're really late." Hustles Poe, shooing them all towards the exit.

Not 20 minutes later, they pull up in front of the red carpet and the girls excitedly get out.  
The gala takes place in a large ballroom and there are a few photographers at the entrance, excitedly taking photos of the two new arrivals.  
In the large foyer they see Ben waiting for them. He is not half as surprised as the person standing next to him that Rey shows up accompanied by Rose.

Hux, his face almost the colour of his hair, stumbles towards them, completely captivated by the sight of his Rose.  
"Mi-M-Miss Tico! I... didn't know you were here today."  
"Mister Hux!" says Rose, smiling and looking down at the floor.  
"Forgive me for asking but... are you here alone tonight?"  
Surprised, Rose looks first at him and then at Rey, who, taking the chance, quickly replies.  
"Yes, she is!"

In complete incomprehension, Rose stares at her, confused.  
"Well... May I offer you my arm for the evening then?" the redhead asks gallantly.  
Staring at him as if in a trance, she very slowly takes his offered arm, thanks him and lets him lead her to the great hall.

"Thank you!" breathes the ghost of Rose's sister beside Rey and disappears again.  
And in the next moment, with Ben still watching the pair, Leia suddenly reappears and speaks to Rey with a serious face.  
"Listen to me Rey! There are many ghosts in this room! Among the guests is a man who radiates a very dark aura... beware!"  
And already, she's gone again.

_*Mmrrrr! Damn! Leia! *_

The next moment, Ben turns to Rey and walks towards her, smiling. Arriving in front of her, he takes her hand and breathes a gentle kiss into her palm. Then Rey runs that hand over his, wrinkled, forehead.  
"Stressful day?" she asks sympathetically.  
"He's getting better!" he says in a soft voice, smiling at her.  
"I don't remember inviting Miss Tico?!"  
"You did now... and you also provided her with the dress and styling!" she informs him.  
"Did I?" he asks with a smirk, leading her in by his arm.

To say there are many ghosts in this room is, after all, a slight understatement.  
Not even in a hospital has she seen so many ghosts in one place. (And there really are a lot of them.)  
There's easily one dead for every living one here. And Rey wonders worriedly what they are all doing here.

On one side of the hall is a bar, which Ben immediately heads for with her. On the other side there is a sumptuous finger food buffet and in the back of the room there is a stage on which a band plays old swing classics, to which some even dance.  
All around the room, waiters in silly Neptune costumes run around handing out champagne or taking empty glasses with them. And young pretty women in bulky mermaid costumes bob around collecting donations in shiny shell tins.  
First Order, according to Ben, has already paid a considerable amount of money in donations in advance.

Ben hands her a glass of champagne, which she gratefully accepts. Without even looking anyone in the eye, she wonders how to get through the evening.  
Helping or avoiding a ghost is not a problem in itself, but... There are over a hundred of them in this room!

Ben introduces her to important First Order business partners and Rey seems to make a good impression on most of them. With a few exceptions, people are relatively nice. Although, some women just stare venomously at her.  
How did Ben put it so aptly? Annoying woman he has to keep off his back.

So, they stroll through the hall for about an hour until, a little further back, Rey suddenly feels a distinct drop in temperature that seems to emanate from a single person, just as Leia said it would.  
Ben's boss! The owner of First Order, Victor Snoke! A tall and gaunt man whose face is covered with several scars. Rey can't stand him from the start and Ben seems to stiffen in his presence too.

"Mister Snoke, may I introduce you to my accompanist? This is Rey Niima." He introduces her politely, whereupon the person addressed regards her with a disparaging look.  
"Miss Niima... I have heard a lot about you..." he says in a cold and frightening voice.  
"I heard... you had a very nice tea party yesterday with our dear Sue Shipping."

Rey doesn't flinch. As she suspected, Ben will have got into trouble because of her and even if she doesn't think he's told his boss why Sue changed her mind, Snoke will have done his own research.

"I've heard a lot about you to. It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person!" Rey croons in an emphatically polite voice.  
"Certainly!" is all he says, seeming to wave them off.

As soon as they walk away from him, Ben loosens up again and eventually breathes a sigh of relief.  
"Thank you for behaving yourself."  
"What's that supposed to mean? I always behave!" she quips, giving him a feigned punch to the upper arm, whereupon he equally feignedly grabs the spot and feigns pain.  
"You weirdo!" giggles Rey.  
"Have I told you that I find your smile quite adorable?" he suddenly asks very seriously.  
For a moment she is unsettled and doesn't quite know how to answer until a man approaches them, apparently another businessman, and engages Ben in conversation.

As the two talk, Rey lets her gaze roam the crowd and lingers on one face. An older little man, with grey hair and a full beard. He is standing next to the buffet and seems to be concentrating on the drink in his hand. That in itself, is nothing remarkable. But standing next to him is a slightly taller man, with a weather-beaten face, a slight shadow of a beard and equally grey hair. He talks to the smaller man, who seems to chuckle and nods from time to time.  
And even that would be nothing remarkable if the taller man were not a ghost.

_*Could it be that... Is that another ghost-seer...? *_ Rey thinks to herself and gets even more suspicious because the two men actually look familiar to her.

Before she can get a closer look at them, the ghost seems to notice her and they both look over at her.

Just in time, Rey looks back at Ben's conversation partner, who is still talking animatedly with him.  
Rey excuses herself from the two when she sees Sue Shipping, who gives her a friendly wave.  
With a bright smile, she walks towards the woman, beside whom, like a guardian angel, stands her mother, smiling just as kindly at her.  
"My dear! You look truly enchanting!" she gushes, giving her a friendly kiss on the cheek.

"I want to thank you again! Things have already started rolling and I've even found a way to accommodate your friend after all, that he's not completely left out in the cold."  
"I'm glad you're comfortable." Says Rey, but doesn't quite understand what the _`accommodation'_ is all about.  
"I do. And... I know now that I will always carry my mother's love in my heart..." she says, grabbing said spot.

"I just hope you don't have any grief with your friend, because of me?"  
"Oh no! But I don't think his boss likes me." Says Rey conspiratorially, giggling.  
"Snoke?! That old grump can't stand anyone... he must have learned that from his mentor already... Sheev Palpatine was really an unpleasant corner packet! May he rot in hell!" she says, looking to the side in disgust.  
"Palpatine?" asks Rey, for whom the name triggers something.  
"Yeah... Sheev Papatine founded First Order back in the day. After his death, Snoke inherited it and picked up right where his predecessor left off. Oh... but you'll have to excuse me now! I have to go find my husband!" she says hurriedly and walks away again.

Left behind is the ghost of her mother, looking happily after her.  
"She is now full of life again! I thank you for helping her."  
Worried, Rey looks around to see if any of the living are watching her.  
"You're welcome!" she whispers to the lady and watches as she looks around for something, smiles happily and looks back at her.  
"Take good care of yourself!" she says and walks away. With each step she fades until she is gone.

Rey has witnessed a ghost fade into the light many times before and she enjoys the high it gives off, but at this moment, it brings her nothing but trouble.  
Suddenly, the volume in the room seems to go down by half and she feels countless pairs of eyes on her. Then whispering voices begin to grow louder.

Without looking back, she knows she has attracted the attention of all the ghosts in the room. Not only that, but Snoke is scowling at her while talking to another man.

Because she feels an eerie darkness emanating from him, she flees in the other direction. She has to get back to Ben before the ghosts start circling her in a grape and telling her about her suffering. She feels a dark shadow following her, the same cold as the other night surrounds her and almost chokes her throat. She walks a little faster until someone grabs her wrist and stops her.

Suddenly she is pulled to the dance floor and once there she is whirled into the arms of her captor.  
It is the bearded man who can apparently also see ghosts.  
Suddenly she is fixed by bright blue eyes and feels that this man can see to the bottom of her soul.

"What..."  
"Quiet! And dance!" he interrupts her and starts to move with her across the floor.  
She follows him and gradually feels the shadow that had haunted her fade away again. And the further they disappear into the dancing crowd, the more the unredeemed souls leave her.  
Even though she finds the man creepy, he has saved her from a very awkward situation.

After a few hushed minutes, during which Rey has only ever stubbornly looked to the side, the stranger speaks up.  
"You caused quite a stir there!" he says in a serious voice.  
"Where did you get the idea, among so many wandering souls, to lead one of them into the light?" he asks directly.  
Now Rey looks to him and is again transfixed by those incredible blue eyes.

Not knowing exactly what to say, she just continues to stare at him.  
"Cat got your tongue now?"  
And then she remembers where she's seen that face before....  
"You're Luke Skywalker!" she says in a stunned voice.  
"That's who I am! And who am I looking at, if you'll allow me the cheeky question?"  
"Uh... Rey Niima!"  
"Pleased to meet you Miss Niima! To make matters worse, you seem to have fallen into disfavour with Snoke himself." He says, turning her so she can see the old man at the edge of the dance floor.

He is still glowering at her as he talks at another tall figure.  
Ben.  
"You are in truly bad company when you are out with my nephew! Watch out for those two!"  
"As for Snoke, I can only agree with you... But you are wrong about Ben!" she says firmly and belligerently.

"Ben...? Didn't you mean Ren?" he asks in amazement, looking at her again more closely.  
He continues to stare at her for a few seconds, then smiles and looks to the side again.  
"You need to watch your poker face better! I can read every thought from your face. Who actually taught you to walk in this world?"  
"Excuse me? What do you mean?" she asks, confused.  
"Who taught you to guide the unredeemed souls into the light?"  
Rey shakes her head slightly and furrows her eyebrows.  
"No one! You're the first other ghost seer I've met..." she says, sensing in the next moment that this is not entirely true.

Luke seems taken aback by her answer, "Is that so? Hmm..."  
And Rey too thinks for a moment. If she is not mistaken, she now knows what Leia's secret is and also....  
"You shouldn't pin your hopes on Kylo Ren! He is lost in the darkness once and for all!" Luke continues to assert.  
At this, Rey breaks away from him and takes a step back.  
"I don't think you really know your nephew!"

Without waiting for a retort, she walks away and runs towards Ben, who has just been left standing by a maliciously laughing Snoke.  
"Can we please go!" she asks in a brittle voice.  
But Ben scowls at her for some time before nodding and going ahead without taking her hand.

They are both silent on the drive to the mansion. Ben seems angry for some reason and Rey has to digest what she has experienced.

At the house, Ben immediately storms into his study and slams the door behind him.  
Rey stops in the foyer and watches him go.  
Eventually she summons up her courage and follows him.  
Ben is sitting in his study behind his desk with his face in his hands.  
Looking up, his eyes are still angry.

"You better leave now, Rey!" he hisses at her.  
"No!" she hisses back.  
"Ben! We need to talk!"  
"But I don't want to talk! Get out!"  
"No!" she yells back immediately this time.

Now he jumps up and storms around the desk towards her. He grabs her by the upper arms and pushes her against a bookcase.  
"Good, then let's talk! Who are you Rey? Why did you show up at my house???" he yells at her, looking at her with insane anger.  
"I..." "Tell me the truth!!!" he interrupts her, assuming she will try to dodge again.

Rey's first tears come. She's never seen him this angry before. Right now, she realizes that Luke was right to a certain extent. Ben is still under Snoke's influence.

"What do you want me to tell you that you don't already know?" she asks in a shaky voice.  
"Were you sent by Luke Skywalker?" he asks a little more calmly.  
"Is it that what Snoke talked you into? That I'm a spy, sent to... what...? I just met your uncle today."  
"How do you know he's my uncle?"  
"You know that! For the same reason you hadn't talked to your family for so long."  
Ben looks at her sharply now and is silent.  
"When I told Luke, he was the first ghost-seer I'd ever met, he knew it wasn't true... It is, isn't it? Now I'm not surprised Leia never showed herself around you... How long have you been denying your gift, Ben?"

As if struck by thunder, he lets go of Rey and stumbles back a few steps. He looks, quite literally, like he's seen a ghost.  
"No!" he breathes angrily again.

"I wish I'd had the chance to say no. I wish I had had someone to help me deal with this gift. You had a family that supported you... A family that cared about you."  
"My family... My mother supported many people... and she truly cared about many people... Her son was not one of them! My father never got on with this `gift' as you so beautifully called it. All they ever really did was fight and he didn't care about me... And my uncle... you met him."

Yes, she met Luke. He won't have received any support from him. But that Leia rejected him, she can't believe.  
"If Leia really didn't care about you that much, she wouldn't have come to me for help. You can say what you want, but your mother never left you in a department store full of ghosts." She whispers, wiping the tears from her face and sniffling once.

His features soften and he walks towards her.  
"Rey it..." But she evades him.  
"You had everything... and you threw it all away...! For what?"  
He is silent and looks at her with wide eyes.  
Dejectedly, she exhales.  
"It's best, I think, if I leave!" she says, waiting for a reaction.  
The reaction doesn't come and new tears roll down her face.  
"I'll be gone tomorrow!" she breathes and runs out of the room.

Rey had run to her room, showered and packed her things so she could leave immediately the next morning.  
Then she had lain down and stared out the window. For hours she could not fall asleep until she heard the door open.  
But she does not stir. Not even when he gets into bed and pulls her back against his chest.  
So, they lie there for a while and gradually Rey regains her composure.

"I don't want you to go...! I'm a huge egotist, I know that. But please don't leave me, Rey!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there!  
> From the next chapter on, some secrets will be revealed and many questions will be answered.  
> Until then, have a nice Friday.  
> Stay healthy!  
> Your Lori ♥


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally Ben tells her the whole truth. But what will she do now? And what secrets from her past will be revealed?

It's the sunlight again that wakes them both up at almost the same time.  
Without turning to him, she sits down on the edge of the bed and thinks about what to do next.

She had promised to leave. But even though she's spent the last night trying to work out whether she's just going to leave his house and move over Maz's shop or go so far as to leave the town and everything behind, she hasn't come to a clear decision. And before Ben laid down with her and literally begged her _'not to leave him'_ , Rey also knew full well that she had to get out of Ben's house no matter what. But now...

"Ben..." she whispers and turns to him.  
This was a mistake!  
The way he's sitting there, with his red-rimmed eyes, he looks so pathetic that Rey can't help but climb to him and press his head to her chest.  
He returns the hug and lies down with her so that she is lying on her back, stroking his head resting on her chest.

They lie there like that for a while until Ben calms down enough to start talking.

"It's been... my mother taught me how to deal with the ghost world... Well..., at least she tried."  
"Tell me about her!" she asks him, listening to his story.

Leia and Luke, despite being twins, did not grow up together. When they found each other, they had learned to deal with the ghosts in different ways. But they worked together for a while and met Han.  
He was a former Air Force pilot and befriended the unusual pair of twins. He later fell in love with Leia and asked her to marry him. The two moved away together and built their own live. Han left the Air Force and from then on worked for an airline. He knew about her gift to talk to the ghosts, but could never really handle it. And then when his son was born, who seemed to have the same gift, it became even harder.

Han and Leia started fighting over every ghost and Ben was constantly caught in the middle. Now his mother was always dealing with strange ghosts and Han couldn't really relate to his son because he just couldn't understand him and so the little boy sank into loneliness.

When he reached puberty, he started to cause trouble. He let himself be influenced by malevolent spirits and committed some shoplifting and was picked up by the police a few times for vandalism.

As a result, his parents sent him to Luke, hoping he could teach the boy in his own way to deal sensibly with the ghost world....  
But that ended in disaster. Ben ran away and disappeared for a year.

When he returned to his parents, he finished school and attended college, where he met Victor Snoke at a lecture on social economics.  
From then on, the company boss became his mentor, he promoted him and let him work in his company. Snoke kept convincing him that his parents would only reject him and had therefore never really supported him.

Later, when Ben helped him buy out and wind down the airline his father worked for, he broke off contact with his family altogether.  
Ben Solo became Kylo Ren and he took charge of First Order.

"When did he die?" asks Rey at one point.  
She had been listening the whole time and stroked his hair encouragingly.  
"Six months after he lost his job because of First Order... I didn't even go to the funeral..." he confesses and Rey knows, tears are streaming down his face.  
He has been crying for a while, but she is quiet and lets him talk.

"The strange thing is... I hadn't seen a ghost in seven years..."  
"Because you suppressed your gift. You ignored the ghosts and over time..."  
"...they disappeared..." he adds.  
"So, you're only seeing the ghosts again since last night?" she asks.  
"No... the first ghost I saw... was my mother's."  
Rey is silent and has to fight her own tears.

"She was standing in my office one day all of a sudden and then suddenly disappeared again... At first, I thought it was just my imagination... You know, too much stress and all that... But some time later, I received the news that she had had a heart attack and had died on the way to hospital."

He is silent for a while and she lets her tears run down her face unhindered.  
"She didn't show up at my house after that but... I started questioning my mentor's practices. The company could make profit in other ways without destroying so many lives. But Snoke is a prime example of greed! For him, there is never enough..."  
"He's evil!" she adds.

"At what point did you know I could see ghosts?" asks Rey, forestalling silence.  
"To be perfectly honest...I had a hunch when you called me by my name...By my real name...But actually...No! Somehow, I always knew. Your kindness, your understanding of people, the way you won Mrs. Shipping over...And besides...it's like a light emanating from you...A light that attracts me..."  
"So, you are..., like Icarus?" she asks playfully.  
"No. More like a moth seduced by light!" he says and has to chuckle himself.

"Oh, by the way, I'm sorry my mother didn't tell you the truth."  
"You don't have to apologize... She had her reasons and... In a way I can understand her too..."

Rey can actually understand her very well. Leia could also have gone to Luke to ask him for help. But that would have backfired.  
Actually, Rey wishes her mother had done something like that for her... But....

"What are you going to do now?" asks Ben, broaching the unpleasant subject and sitting up.  
"I don't know... but, I'm not leaving town." She confesses, seeing hope shine in his eyes.  
"And... have you decided where you want to live?" he asks gently.  
"Ben!" she chides him.  
"I don't want to press you. But... my offer still stands... The room is yours... If you want it." He says, gesturing to the room around him.  
"That's sweet...!" she says, touching his cheek very gently.

"I don't know... but I might go and have a look at that flat Maz told me about first..."  
"Maz? Maz Kanata?"  
"You know her?"  
"Yeah, when I ran away from Luke I stayed with her for a year and lived in the flat above Hondo's shop. I kept going to school, but I didn't want to go to my parents..."  
Rey can sense there's a story behind that too, but he's already confessed so much to her today and... even if she doesn't live in his house... they'll still have the time to tell each other everything.

"We can go there right now. You'll like the place, I'm sure." He offers happily, literally wagging his tail like an excited dog.  
"I can't. I have an appointment with Rose in an hour. I'll look at the flat afterwards."  
"With Rose? But you've only known each other since yesterday?!"  
"Yes, but it's quicker for us women to become friends..." she says, playfully tapping him on the nose.

After Threepeo had made them breakfast, Ben offered to drive them into town, since he could go to the office anyway if he wasn't allowed to accompany them, and the mall is on the way anyway.

Ben drops her off in front of the fountain where she will meet Rose. He doesn't get out with her, but before she leaves the car, he pulls her to him once more and kisses her. Not a gentle or loving kiss. More a kiss full of hard desperation, as if he fears losing her....  
"I know it's unusual and too soon but... I believe we can become something." He says with solemn seriousness in his eyes.

Without answering, she leaves the car and looks after him as he drives away.  
Then she touches her lips very lightly with her fingertips and wonders if he could be right.  
They have known each other for how long now? A week? That's absolutely not enough time to know each other even remotely well but....  
Hasn't she felt for a long time that she is connected to him in a deeper way?

Rose is right on time and together they walk towards the shopping mall.  
On the way, Rose tells her that last night was like a fairytale for her. Hux has finally dared to talk to her. And they fit so well together (she says).  
He has asked her out on a date this evening and for that she wants to buy a cute dress to make him realize what he has in her.

_*If that hasn't dawned on him yet, I don't know.... *_

In front of the entrance, Rey stops as if rooted to the spot and stares at the large characters above the entrance door. They indicate the **'EARL MALL'**.  
Unsure, Rose stops beside her.  
"The Earl Mall..." muses Rey quietly.  
"Is something Rey?"  
"I'm not sure... Was the mall perhaps once called, **PEARL MALL**?"  
"Oh..." makes Rose and looks at the character.  
"Well... Yeah... Some rioters, stole the P years ago but... the operators didn't want to afford a new one so... they just made it the **EARL MALL**... Sounds kinda classy too... Have you been here before Rey?"

_*Yes... Have I been here before? That can't really be possible... Can it? *_

"I'm not sure..."  
Rose waits another moment with Rey still staring transfixed at the sign.  
"Let's just go inside, maybe you'll recognize something inside." Rose suggests and Rey agrees.

Inside, it's crowded and noisy. And as soon as the smells hit her nose, she feels instantly transported back....  
There is the salty smell of warm pretzels, the sweet aroma of ice cream, sugary sodas, the typical rubber smell of the floor coverings, the smells of hair products from the salon, and the acrid stench of cleaning products on the housekeeping cart.

Rey recognises the place immediately....  
She takes Rose by the hand and walks with her further inside.  
"Hey! What is it, what's wrong with you?" protests the young Asian girl, until they arrive at a gathering place with noisy benches and Rey suddenly stops.

"Rey what's wrong?" she asks worriedly.  
Right here it was...  
At this point she let go of her hand. Those cold fingers that should have protected her....  
"This is where my mom left me!" she says, looking at her sadly. She can already feel the tears rolling down her cheek.  
Moved, Rose covers her mouth with her hand.  
"Oh Rey...!"

Together they sit down on one of the benches and Rey slowly tells her what she can remember of that day. (She keeps quiet about the ghosts, of course).

"If I had known, I would never have come here with you. But... wait a minute! Doesn't that mean that..."  
"I'm not sure... I can barely remember anything from back then... Niima isn't my real name either..."  
Rose listens intently and eventually reaches for her hand.  
"Even if you... don't know where you came from... Maybe it's that you belong here!" she says lovingly.

At that moment, Rey just knows that Rose can not only become a very good friend, but that she is already her best friend.  
Gratefully, they embrace and Rey knows she is home.

After they have calmed down to some extent, Rey goes to the bathroom to wash her face and freshen up a bit.  
After splashing water on her face, she looks at herself in the mirror.  
Her eyes are a little puffy from all the crying over the last few hours but that's not too bad. Almost 50% of them are tears of joy!

Then she sees a shadow in the mirror. She quickly turns around and looks wide-eyed into her nightmare come true.  
Like a little child, she closes her eyes tightly and prays inwardly that he cannot harm her.

"The little girl has grown up!" says an eerie ethereal voice.  
"And the little girl is still afraid of me!"

_*That's not true! He can't do anything to me! Please go away! *_

"Yet the little girl has no reason to be afraid of me..."  
Slowly, Rey opens her eyes and stares at the eyeless priest who has haunted her in so many of her nightmares.

"I'm quite harmless!" he assures her, smiling benevolently at her.  
"I'm sorry!" whispers Rey, looking at him more closely now.  
Wearing a black cassock and white collar, he looks like any other clergyman. As he says, harmless really. But his eyes startle her every time she looks up.

"I'm glad to see that little girl has grown into a pretty young woman!"  
"So, you remember me?" she asks cautiously.  
"Why yes! It's not every day you see a little bird being left behind by her mama bird and then the mama bird running away from the darkness."  
"I'm sorry, what? From the darkness...? See?"  
"Yes, I can see... just in a different way. But you seem to be doing well now! I'm glad!" he says, as if he hadn't even heard her other questions.  
"No! What darkness did my mother run away from?" she asks more forcefully now.  
For a long moment he seems to stare at her (you can't tell that clearly..., because of the lack of eyes), then he turns and leaves.  
"She fled from the darkness that cannot reach you..."  
"Why can't the darkness reach me?" she asks further.  
"Because of the light that protects you!" he says quickly, then disappears behind a wall.

_*Grrrr! Damn ghosts!!!! Why do they always have to disappear when things get exciting???? *_

For the next two hours, Rose and Rey walk around the mall, talking, joking and eating pretzels. Rose finds a cute lime green dress, with a wavy hem, that Rey describes as looking scrumptious in.

After they say goodbye to each other, Rose goes back to the office, having only taken the morning off, and Rey decides to go to Maz's and check out the flat after all.  
The shock of the priest is still in her bones and the fact that she might be from Chandrila makes her think.  
So pensive that she barely looks up when she enters Maz's Castle Store.

"Hello dear!" a familiar voice, not Maz's, greets her.  
"Leia!" she exclaims in surprise, suddenly standing in front of a motley mix.  
Behind the counter is Maz, next to her is Amilyn, the former owner of the shop. In front of the counter are Luke and Leia, as well as the ghost from last night, Han Solo.

"Sit down dear! We need to talk!" says Maz, jumping off her chair, walking around the counter and turning the OPEN sign to CLOSED behind Rey.  
She then walks with Maz and Luke to the table in the back where they were sitting on Tuesday.

Rey is visibly uncomfortable in the company of the Skywalker and Solo clans, about whom she had learned so much this morning.  
"I suspect Ben was telling you the truth..." begins Leia.  
"No way! The brat would never admit to seeing ghosts!" Luke murmurs, which angers Rey.  
"Yes, he would!" asserts Leia firmly.  
Rey decides not to get involved for now.  
"And what would have made him do that?" asks Luke further suspiciously.  
"He doesn't want to lose the girl!" interjects Han, who has been keeping an eye on Rey the whole time.

Now everyone looks back at Rey, who lowers her head dejectedly.  
Luke leans back in his chair and grabs his beard thoughtfully as he looks at Rey.

"We're not here for Ben!" reminds Maz to the group.  
"Then why?" asks Rey blue-eyed.  
"Because of you, my sweet!" says Amilyn, hearing her speak for the first time.  
"After you got here, I tried to find out a little more about you. After all, Leia won't have sent you here for no reason at all." Says Maz kindly.

"To be honest, I had no idea what Maz had found out about you." Admits Leia, looking at her fondly.  
"Amilyn helped me with the research. We found out that you were sent to Illinois after the orphanage you started at had to close down." Reports the little woman.  
Rey is taken aback. She didn't know anything about that. Until earlier, she assumed her mother left her in some department stores' back east.

"You were found in a department store near here on a 10th of April, 20 years ago.  
The authorities had no record of you and you could only tell them your first name. So, you were sent to an orphanage near here for a short time and after that, you were sent to Illinois under the name Rey Niima."  
"Rey! I want you to know, I didn't know anything about your background when I asked you to come here." Leia tries to defend herself.

"What's so special about that? So, I'm from around here?!"  
"Well... that in itself isn't special... But it turns out we knew your mother, Rey!" says Luke suddenly.  
"You knew my mother?" asks Rey in a shaky voice.  
"Yes..." he replies, looking off into the distance.  
"I knew her, since she was a little girl... I liked that girl a lot."  
"What was her name?" asks Rey quietly.  
"Kira Kenobi! She was the daughter of my mentor. Obi Kenobi. A good man who taught me to help spirits. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to help his daughter... She ran away when she was just 15 and fell into drugs."

Rey is shocked, but listens carefully.  
"She met a man here in Chandrila for whom she said she even gave up drugs. They got married and had a child, a little girl... you! And to be quite honest... Yesterday with the hair up I couldn't tell but now... You look incredibly like her, Rey!" he says and looks at her fatherly affectionately.

But she doesn't want to hear that!  
"What happened to them?" she asks stubbornly.  
Luke clears his throat and then continues.  
"I guess your father, shortly after you were born, died in a car accident... Kira ran out of strength after that and went back to using drugs... After she abandoned you, she died of an overdose."  
Rey looks down at the ground, sniffling. She had always suspected it had ended that way but... actually hearing it hurts.

"Why did she never come to me after that? Did she go straight into the light?" asks Rey hurt.  
"No! I wasn't there then, I had had enough problems with my nephew. But I heard later that she came to Obi as a ghost and asked him to find you and take you to him. He promised to protect you and then she passed on. Unfortunately, he too died shortly after..."

Rey feels absolutely miserable. She has an inkling of what's coming next. She can't remember any spirit being with her... watching her or even protecting her. There was no one. She was always alone! And that can only mean one thing...

"He passed into the light?" she asks, feeling a new flood of tears coming.  
"Yes..." breathes Luke.  
Rey jumps up and goes to the window. She can't stand the looks of the others. For all the mistakes Leia, Han and Luke made with Ben, they never really let him down.

"But he didn't forget his promise!" claims Luke.  
"How?" exclaims Rey through tears, turning to the group.  
"How could he have kept his promise when he went into the light?"  
"Oh Rey! Dear! You don't know but... When I was looking for someone to help me with my stupid son, I observed many ghost seers but you stood out to me the most among all. Because you are surrounded by a very special light." Says Leia, smiling warmly at her.  
"I don't understand!"  
"What my sister is trying to say is that Obi protects you out of the light. He wraps you in a protective light. That is why you have never been pursued by a shadow and that is why the shadow has not been able to harm you, the one that has been harassing my nephew."

Rey can hardly believe what they are telling her. Her grandfather, whom she has never met, is protecting her? This is just too much to take in all at once.  
She excuses herself, saying she needs to get some fresh air, and leaves the shop. Next to the entrance door, which is still hung with the CLOSED sign, she leans against the wall and takes a few deep breaths.

Even though she now knows the truth..., She is from Chandrila... Her father died soon after she was born... Her mother took the golden bullet after leaving her alone... And her grandfather....  
Dazed, she wonders what kind of people they were. Luke said she looked a lot like her mother... Kira... Kira Kenobi... Does that mean her real name is Rey Kenobi...? But no...! If Kira and her father got married... surely that means she actually has his name... But what was it? Do Luke, the ghosts or Maz know?

These thoughts occupy her for quite a while and she barely notices a van pull up in front of her.  
Only when the side door opens and two tall figures jump out and hurry towards her does she look up...

Too late...

One of the men grabs her and presses his hand over her mouth. Rey cannot scream and is forcibly carried into the van.  
Full of panic, she sees the door being pushed shut and darkness enveloping her....

Where is the light now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there!  
> Yes, I know... a nasty cliffhanger...  
> But tomorrow it will go on.  
> Until then, stay healthy and enjoy the day!  
> Your Lori ♥


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The way into the light is the way through the darkness.
> 
> Rey is trapped in deep darkness and can no longer see the light.  
> Can Ben get to her in time to stop Snoke's sinister plans?  
> And will Leia be able to give her enough strength to overcome her fear?

Even though Snoke is against it, Ben will accept Sue Shipping's offer and has already sent a written confirmation. Next week he will convince the board of his plan.

When Rose comes into the office after lunch, she is carrying a garment bag and is particularly haunted by Hux's eyes.  
Ben wonders whether what Rey has unleashed with her action is really so good.

After Rose brings him a coffee and closes the door behind him, Ben almost chokes. His mother is standing in the middle of his office, looking at him in alarming despair.  
"Mother... what...?"  
"Ben! We'll have time for that later!" she interrupts him, taking a few steps forward.  
"Rey's in trouble! She's been kidnapped!"  
"WHAT??? WHERE???" he yells, jumping up from his chair.  
"Outside Maz's Castle... Ben I think it was..."  
"ROSE!!!" he roars.

The young woman immediately rushes into his office, completely startled by her boss' sudden change of mood.  
"Sir?! What...?"  
" TELL HUX TO COME TO MY OFFICE IMMEDIATELY!!!" he orders.

On the spot, Rose disappears from the office.  
"Can you find out where she is?" he asks his mother, looking at her pleadingly.  
"I-I'll try..." she stammers and disappears.

Then Hux enters his office.  
"What are you...?" he wants to start, but is grabbed by the collar by Ben and pushed against the wall.  
"WHERE IS HE?"  
Confused, Hux gulps, not knowing what to say.  
"Mister Ren! What are you doing?" yells Rose at him as she comes storming into the office.  
"HE KIDNAPPED REY AND YOU'RE GOING TO TELL ME WHERE HE IS NOW!" he roars on and it's obvious in Hux's eyes that he knows what his boss is talking about.

"What, Rey...? Kidnapped...? When? Where?" Rose shouts between them, but is ignored by the men.  
"I don't know where he went but..."  
Cautiously, Ben lets go of him and waits for him to continue.  
"He was here earlier today when you weren't here... He was angry and then one of his investigators came... A guy called Ochi. He was hired by Snoke to find out everything about your girlfriend. He came with the investigation results and Snoke was very angry about what Ochi found out... I have no idea what it was but... After that he made some calls and disappeared with Ochi."

"Damn!" mutters Ben.  
The next moment his mother reappears.  
"So, where is she?" he exclaims, ignoring the confused looks from Hux and Rose.  
"She's in a van. I could tell they were driving through a forest... Ben! I've got to get back to her! She's very scared...!"  
And the next moment she's gone again.

"Rose! Find out if Snoke has any properties or land in a forest nearby and send me the addresses on my mobile phone!" he orders and is already about to head for the lift when....

"Wait!" Hux calls after him.  
"I don't think you'll find anything there but... I know there's a cabin in the woods that belonged to Palpatine that's not in Snoke's name. He once sent me there to get some documents that he hides there. Give me the car keys! I'll drive!"  
Ben tosses him the car keys and tells Rose to inform the police and send them to said shack.

He is grateful to Hux. Although it hardly seems so from the outside, as the two take great pleasure in annoying each other, they are... the best of friends and Hux knows full well that Ben is too upset to drive sensibly at the moment. He would probably have another accident. And that wouldn't help anyone!

On the way, Ben blames himself the most. He knew that Snoke felt threatened by Rey. When he found out about Sue Shipping, he suspected that Snoke might be up to something, but that he would go that far...?!

"Who were you just talking to?" asks Hux as they drive out of town at far too high a speed.  
"If you don't mind... we'll discuss it later! First we have to get Rey out of there!" blocks Ben.  
"Don't mind if I do... I want her safe too. I really owe her a lot...!"

Now Ben listens up.  
"Rose?!"  
"Yes! We're going on a date tonight... Did you know that?" the redhead asks as they change lanes far too quickly.  
"That's why the garment bag..." muses Ben to himself.  
"I swear to you... I'm not going to mess this up with her, and when things are back on track, we'll go on a double date together." Hux promises, making Ben smile a little.  
"And I swear to you... If I can ever convince her to marry me, you'll be my best man!"  
"I'll take your word for it!"

Yes! If he gets Rey out of this, he'll never be able to let her go. And she's going to have to get ready to go from being held hostage by Snoke, straight into being held hostage by him.  
And then he will fight every day to keep her with him forever!

If something were to happen to Rey...he'd never be able to forgive himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sheer panic! Rey can't describe her feelings any other way at the moment.  
Her hands have been tied behind her back. Her mouth is taped shut with Duct Tape.  
There are three men. One is driving, another is sitting on the passenger seat and the third is squatting behind the row of seats keeping an eye on her.

What are they going to do with her? Where are they taking her?  
Tears stream down her nose and for a moment she fears she might suffocate. But then a glimmer of hope appears.  
Leia appears. Worried, she looks at her and Rey screams under the tape.  
"Don't be afraid...! Help is on the way soon." Comforting her, she turns to the cab. Having apparently gained some impressions, she disappears again.

Rey doesn't have to wait long for Leia to rejoin her, and her closeness actually has a comforting effect. She calms down and braces herself for what is to come.  
Eventually, they stop. And Rey is pulled out of the car.  
They are in a forest and they go into a cabin. Waiting for them inside is, how could it be otherwise, Victor Snoke.

"Welcome Miss Niima! I've been expecting you." He warbles in his usual scary voice.  
"Ooohhh! How hospitable of you!" Rey sneers unintelligibly from under the tape as she is tied to a chair.  
Leia is still standing next to her, looking at Snoke with hatred.

He then orders her three captors out of the room and sits down in a chair across from her.  
"Do you know Rey... I can call you Rey, can't I? I already knew that you could be a nuisance to me when they told me about Ren's new girlfriend. But now, at the latest, I know that you could even be highly dangerous to me."

_*Why me? *_

"But it's not because of you or your pushy righteous ways... No! You are dangerous because of your blood! „

*What did my blood do to him? *

"After careful research, we found out that you are also from Chandrila and that both your parents died here... Your mother was an insignificant nobody... Nothing more than a little junkie hooker! And your father... Well, in principle, he too was nothing, if measured by my standards... But with his father, things were different... For his father, he was the progenitor... the heir to his empire... He hoped to live on through his son but... He had other plans, of course. He proved the weakness I always suspected in him. He fell in love, and with this unsuitable subject to boot."

Oh, how Rey hated him. Even if her mother was weak... He mustn't talk about her like that!

"His father was absolutely against this union, but the fool would not be dissuaded and so he unceremoniously fled to Vegas with the little tramp and took her as a wife. When they came back, he was disowned by his father, but that didn't matter to the boy. So, he had to find another way to get his offspring back on track... Unfortunately, that went disastrously wrong!"

And then it almost takes Rey's breath away....

"The car accident that should have killed you and your mother instead cost Palpatine's son his life!"  
Leia also exhales in shock. In their research on Kira, they hadn't mentioned a word about her father....  
Palpatine?!

"Ohhaha! I see you really didn't know that. It's true. Sheev Palpatine was your grandfather...! When my mentor learned of the unfortunate death of his only son..."  
Snoke has to interrupt himself, suddenly looking like a snake that has cornered the rabbit.

"... Let's put it this way... For me, two birds were killed with one stone at that moment. The troublesome heir to the throne was out of the way and over the loss of his heir, the old man suffered a heart attack..."  
The laugh Snoke gives after that is dark and hollow.

Rey can't believe it... Her own grandfather... caused a car accident that should have killed her....

_*Anyway, now Ben can't brag about his messed up family... I win that comparison hands down! *_

"And so, I got it all! The company, the empire, just everything Sheev Palpatine had built was finally mine!"

_*Oi! The man sounds like the perfect movie villain right now, laying out his whole, bitterly evil, plan in front of me before executing his plan, and then laughing evilly! *_

But suddenly a terrible thought occurs to Rey... If she's Palpatine's granddaughter and he owned First Order, then...

"And then a strange thing happened..." interrupts Snoke her train of thought.  
"I suddenly felt, very clearly, the immediate and strong presence of my late mentor..." he says in a sinister voice and the next moment a huge shadow opens up behind Snoke.

It is the same shadow that tormented Ben..., the same one that haunted her at the Gala....  
And now Rey understands how the dark shadows are created....

"He came back to me... more powerful than ever and driven by a desire... to drag those like you into the darkness!"  
Rey swallows hard, and with a sideways glance, has to realize that Leia is no longer standing beside her.

_*Why does she have to disappear now of all times??? *_

"Something must have happened after that... something had changed after Palpatine died... I imagine it something like this... The ghost, of your grandfather sought out you, you and your mother. He must have been surprised that you could perceive him and then the desire for revenge arose in him. Because of you, his son died and his line was broken... You had to pay for it!"

The shadow grows larger and builds up as a huge entity behind Snoke.  
"And then... voices whispered to him; `Give us their souls! Draw the souls of Lightbringers to us in the darkness! '" he whispers the last part and Rey can literally hear the voices ordering him to torture her and her mother... To torture them until Kira lost all hope and resorted to drugs again.

"I heard about your mother's death later. How tragic that she took drugs again!" he sneers, bringing tears of anger to Rey's eyes.  
"But the problem was..., you were gone! Your mother, in her drug-addled mind, had managed to make you disappear from our reach. You were gone but... I didn't care! The deeper you were buried, the more certain was my power! And besides, yes, I found another ghost seer the shadows could have."

_*Ben! *_

"But then you reappeared... And you pose a problem for me... But luckily, this problem can be easily fixed and... As a little bonus, I can give the shadows another ghost seer!"

_*Oh god! He's going to kill me! *_ Rey thinks and starts shaking again as he rises from his chair and the shadow builds up even more.

"Don't worry...I won't kill you right away! First your soul has to darken! And luckily...," he snaps his fingers and her three captors come back into the hut.  
Suddenly the three look even more frightening.  
"...my men can have fun with you while they're at it!" he says and cold sweat runs down Rey's forehead.

_*This can't be true! This can only be a joke! *_

With desperate, muffled cries, Rey tries to struggle free of her bonds as the men, followed by the shadow, come towards her.  
And then... the shadow manifests in front of her....  
She thinks the four living men can't see it, but standing before her now is the darkened shadow ghost of her grandfather, Sheev Palpatine.

"There is no escape!" his distorted voice whispers.  
He looks hunched over to her, disfigured. As if the darkness is bringing his insides out.  
And anger wells up in Rey. This is the man who took everything from her. Her father, her mother... She can sense that her mother's death is a direct result of his torment.  
"Good...! I feel your anger! You are defenceless! Your journey towards the darkness will be complete!"

But out of nowhere... and before the men can reach her, Rey feels warmth. And then, suddenly, she is surrounded by a glaring light.

"Hello there!" she unexpectedly hears a friendly and warm voice behind her.  
An old man with a white beard and sad but friendly eyes suddenly stands next to her. The men shrink back and Rey realizes that they too can see the light emanating from the man.

" Kenobi! You are a bolt one!” whispers Palpatine, covering his eyes with a crippled grey hand.

And all at once, Rey feels hope welling up inside her. Behind her, more and more ghosts appear. Leia, Han, Amilyn and Rose's sister.  
"Don't be afraid my little one!" This came from the woman in the blue dress, with the blue lips and there is also the man with the big hole in his stomach, the woman with the pointy shoe in her head and the ghost with the twisted neck.  
"Be one with the light! The light is with you!"

_*Naturally! The eyeless priest is here too! *_

" It´s over Palpatine. We have the high ground." says Obi, pointing to even more spirits who have all come to support him.  
Many of them Rey had seen before, some she had been able to help... and all of them have come to protect her!

With each spirit that joins them, the light grows brighter and brighter, and the four men, as well as Palpatine, groan as it grows so bright that even Rey has to close her eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finally arriving at the cabin, Ben and Hux see two vehicles parked in front of the building. A luxury car and the van in which Rey was abducted.

Without holding back, Ben sprints out of the car and towards the log cabin, but before he can reach the door, bright light spills out of the windows and both men have to cover their eyes.

Then it's gone again and everything is normal.

"What the hell was that?" asks Hux, upset.  
When they can already hear the police sirens in the distance, Ben recovers his senses and finally runs inside.

Inside the house they find a strange scene. In one half of the room, Snoke and three of his men, including Ochi, are lying unconscious on the floor.  
In the other side, Rey is sitting tied to a chair with her mouth taped shut and her eyes firmly closed.

"Rey!" exclaims Ben delightedly, who immediately looks up in shock.  
Gently, he pulls the tape from her mouth while Hux unties her behind her. He keeps an eye on the four figures on the ground.  
Then Ben takes her face between his hands and looks for signs of pain.

"Did they hurt you?" he asks gently.  
She shakes her head and starts crying again. When Hux has finally untied her, she immediately jumps around his neck. She stays there for the time being and Ben presses her so tightly against his body that she can't breathe for a very short time.

The police then arrive, closely followed by Rose, driven by Finn, and Luke and Maz.  
The police arrest Snoke and his gang and will charge him with a few other offences as there are documents in the shack proving his involvement in many crooked deals.  
Hux, kindly, led them there.

After Rey was checked over by medics (which was difficult in itself as Ben wouldn't even let her go,) she went to see Luke, around whom all the ghosts who had just saved her have gathered.

Luke cleared his throat and all the ghosts turned to her.  
"I'm going to stand here and pretend you're talking to me... while you thank your friends!" he says, standing among the motley bunch.

Rey looks at each of them in turn. The ghosts who calmed her down back in the shopping mall when she was alone, Rose's sister and even some ghosts she had helped in other states.  
"I don't know what to say..."  
"Thank you, would be a start!" says Amilyn kindly.  
"Thank you all and I'll never forget that!"  
"But sweetie!" Trills the woman in the blue dress.  
"You helped them all! I think you're even!"

"Did you call them all?" she asks to Leia. The latter just shakes her head.  
"That was Obi!" interjects Luke.  
"But, where is he?" she asks, looking searchingly around the crowd.  
Having had to close her eyes because of the light, she hadn't seen him.  
"Simple...," Luke begins, placing a finger on her collarbone.  
"He´s here!" he says explanatorily.  
"Haven't you got it yet? Your grandfather has never-and will never-stop protecting you!"

Rey can barely comprehend it, but then she remembers what the priest said....  
"He is the light that protects me?!" she says quietly, looking in his direction.  
The priest addressed nods.  
For a long time, she is silent and thinks about it. Then she whispers softly, "Thank you, Grandpa!"

Hux and Finn watch the spectacle as the hut is searched by policemen and Snoke, as well as his men are led away. Rose stands beside them, watching Rey intently. She notices over time that she is not talking to the bearded man, but rather... and this irritates her, with the empty room next to her.

After Rey makes her first statement, she is allowed to leave.  
It's been a very emotional day. She has learned so much and when she arrives at his house with Ben, all she really wants to do is go to bed and sleep.

But Ben doesn't want to leave her alone just yet.  
First, he offers to order her something to eat, when she refuses he asks if he should make her something himself. Then he offers her a massage to relax her and when she refuses even a foot massage, he grasps at his last straw.

"Would you like to take a bath?" he asks cautiously, looking at her with his sweet puppy dog eyes that make her smile.  
"A bath would be nice." She agrees and lets him lead her to his room.

Then he leaves her in the bedroom and prepares the bathroom for her. As she hears the water running into the tub, she begins to undress.  
As soon as she stands naked and reaches for a towel to wrap around her body, she sees the bondage marks on her wrist and all the feelings from today come crashing down on her.

The truth about her parents and her grandfathers, Ben's confessions and the cold that emanated from the shadow. Suddenly she starts shivering violently and quickly wraps herself in the shawl.

_*Take it easy Rey! You're not a little girl anymore! *_

There is already a thick mist in the bathroom. The air is filled with the relaxing aroma of lavender. And Ben is squatting next to the claw-footed tub, holding a hand in the water to test the temperature.  
His jacket is on the sink and his shirt sleeve is rolled up.  
He has really gone the extra mile, there are even a couple of lit candles in one corner, which she guesses are also giving off a lavender scent.

_*Where on earth did this softie get the candles? *_

"Oh... the water's ready... I'll be downstairs if you need me." He babbles when he sees her, takes his hand out of the water and wants to leave the bathroom in a hurry with his jacket.  
"Wait!" she breathes, holding him by the sleeve.  
"Can you please stay here?!" she asks, looking at him through her lashes.

Ben is breathing heavily and suddenly has a very determined look on his face.  
Rey suspects for a moment that she might just ask him for anything and he would do it for her without hesitation.

So, he takes off his jacket again, rolls up his other sleeve too and watches Rey get into the water. Then he grabs a small stool and sits behind her.

For some time, they are both silent. Ben leans against the edge of the tub and gently strokes Rey's head. And Rey begins to calm down gradually.

"Can I wash your hair?" asks Ben after a while.  
Rey nods and leans forward so she can pull her knees to her chest and hug her legs. Gently he ladles water with his hands and moistens her hair. Then he fetches two bottles from the shower cubicle.

With a pleasant hum, she enjoys his head massage as he works the shampoo in. After rinsing her hair, he begins to apply the conditioner. Then he waits a moment and begins to massage her neck during the application time.

He is so loving and Rey almost starts to cry. How did she ever deserve this guy?

After he has conscientiously washed the conditioner out of her hair too, he wants to get up and return the two bottles, but Rey grabs his hand and pulls her to him.  
She gives him a kiss in the palm of her hand and looks up at him with a trembling lower lip.

He drops the bottles and pulls her into his arms. And at that moment all the dams break. She starts crying loudly. All the fear she had gone through in the past hours comes over her again and she holds on to him with all her might.

"Sh sh!" he goes, ignoring the fact that his clothes are getting soaked. He doesn't care!  
"I'm with you, Rey. You don't have to be afraid anymore! I'll never leave you again!"  
For several minutes he holds her and comforts her. He can only imagine the fear she has gone through today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there! 
> 
> First of all, I want to apologise for the Kenobi and Palpatine quotes. I just couldn't help myself.  
> Oddly enough, Snoke's voice sounds like Freezer's voice from Dragon Ball Z in my head. (Obviously the ultimate villain for me) (By the way, it's also the German dubbing voice of Wolverien).
> 
> Now we've almost reached the end.  
> I hope you've had fun with the story so far... Well..., tomorrow will be funnier 😉  
> Stay healthy and enjoy the beautiful Sunday!  
> Your Lori ♥


	9. Epilogue

Almost two weeks have passed since the kidnapping.  
Rey has been able to process the events reasonably well. Ben helped her as much as he could. Rey starts working at Maz's shop in a few days, but the flat above Maz's Castel has not been mentioned again and in the meantime, Rey has moved out of her bedroom into Ben's. After being plagued by nightmares the first night, she didn't want to sleep without Ben.

He worked from home a lot, but unfortunately, he still had to go to the office often. Especially when it was revealed that Rey was a Palpatine native. First Order was completely signed over to her and she had to come into the office to sign some papers. Ben helped her with the takeover and advised her on how to restructure the company to do more deals, like the one with Sue Shipping.  
However, she refused to take the Palpatine name.

The company is on its way to change. In a month's time, a conference would be held to confirm Ben as CEO and the company's name and image would undergo a transformation.

Ben has been able to talk to the ghosts of Han and Leia and they plan to go into the light together after sorting out a few more things.  
Rey mentioned at one point her suspicion that they were at least waiting for an engagement. And Ben makes no secret of the fact that that's exactly what he intends to do... Rey then fell silent.  
As for Luke, the reconciliation will take some time.

As planned, Rose and Hux had their date... but not until a few days after the kidnapping.  
Rose warbled to Rey the next day how lovely the evening had been. He would be such a gentleman, had only kissed her goodnight at the flat door and then left.  
Ben told her, however, that the two of them had done it in the broom cupboard in the office many a time.

As for Rose's sister..., well, let's say things haven't turned out quite so 'satisfactory' with her.  
She's been haunting Rey's vicinity for the past two days, pestering her incessantly for a date.  
No ordinary date... It's not like Rose and Hux need any help there... no! What she wants is a double date where she can talk through Rey and Ben, to Rose and also Hux.

"I can't decide something like that on my own!" whines Rey, who, fed up, is on her way to the study to talk to Ben.  
"But I just want to talk to her once! It can't be that hard!" repeats the ghost for what feels like the hundredth time.

"Hold your breath Paige!" shouts Rey at her, and she could be tearing her hair out.  
"Confessing to Rose that I see ghosts is hard enough on its own. Not to mention Ben can see ghosts too, it's a lot more complicated to explain to Hux as well! I can't decide this on my own!"  
Paige looks at her with wide eyes and seems to have to stifle a determined sentence.  
Rey raises an eyebrow and says in a monotone, composed voice, "Go on, say it!"  
Of course, the ghost doesn't let that get away from her. "You know, technically speaking, I can't hold my breath at all!"

"How funny! I've never heard that line before!" says Rey sarcastically, rolling her eyes and walking on.

Ben is sitting behind his laptop as usual, typing something as she enters the room, ghost in tow.  
"Ben! We need to talk!" she says sternly, whereupon he immediately closes the laptop and puts his reading glasses (with which he looks mega-hot, by the way) aside.  
"What is it, sweetheart...? I mean, darling!" he corrects himself when Rey scowls at him about the sweetheart.

"Paige here..." she says, pointing at the ghost.  
"...Wants a double date where she can speak through us to Rose and Hux. I'm trying to make her understand right now that it's not that simple. We can't suddenly..."  
"No problem! Hux has been asking me to go on some stupid double date for a few days now, and I had to promise him back when he started dating Rose and our relationship got serious." He interrupts her, leaving her wondering.

"Well then, it's settled!" claps Paige's hands together and beams happily at Rey, grinning.  
"Where does Hux get an idea like that, suggesting a double date?" asks Rey suspiciously.  
"Maybe he wants to show off his girlfriend?" suggests Ben.  
"Well! Anything that's not Barbie is a cause for celebration!" says Rey, alluding to his professional escort from a few weeks ago."

"You mean Brandy!" Ben corrects her, whereupon she gives him a sharp look.  
With a raised eyebrow, Rey walks around the desk towards him.  
"How come you remember her name so well?" she asks as he pushes the chair back a little from the desk.  
Rey sits down sideways on his lap and puts her arms around his neck to snuggle up to him.  
"I don't know exactly..." he replies with a grin.  
"Might be because of how she ate her dessert..." speculates Rey, continuing to look into his darkening eyes.  
"That is, admittedly, something men can't easily forget!" he confesses with a smile.

As he runs his hand over her back, she bites her lower lip and twirls his hair a little between her fingers.  
"We've settled everything here, haven't we?" she asks Paige without looking up.  
The latter, who had been watching the spectacle intently, now startles and would blush if she could.  
"Oh! Yeah, but sure, see you!" she says quickly and disappears.

And then they kiss. It starts delicately, a light taster, little caresses that grow more longing and fierce with each touch. As Ben enters her mouth with his tongue, Rey begins to fiddle with the buttons of his shirt.  
He moans lustfully into her mouth as she moves her hips indecently on his lap.

Then, breathing heavily, he disengages from her and holds her hip tightly.  
"Are you sure?" he asks, unable to hide a slight concern.  
And his concern is not unfounded. After the kidnapping, Rey had struggled with this form of touch. Ben had realized that she needed time to gather enough trust so that she could allow his touch again.

With flushed cheeks, she strokes his cheek and breathes a small "Yes!".  
Then he captures her lips again. He lifts her up and sits her on the desk.  
Behind her, he sweeps some papers, pens and his laptop off the table.

_*Shit! It's going to be fucked... never mind! *_ he thinks to himself and, giggling, pulls her legs apart to stand between them.

Her small hands proceed to unbutton his shirt and he pulls her shirt up.  
Then he pushes her back so that she lies flat on her back. He pushes her shirt and bra down to under her chin and begins to worship her breasts with his mouth and tongue.  
As he does so, he keeps bumping the distinct bulge in his trousers against her sensitive core.

"Ben!" she moans as she slides the shirt over his shoulders.  
He obeys immediately, straightening up and undoing the button and zip of her jeans. He then removes them and her panties. Hastily he undoes his belt and trousers and pushes them down with the boxers where they gather around his knees.  
After he is freed, he bends over her and slowly drives into her.

Rey will probably never get used to how big he is. Once he's completely sunk into her, she wraps her legs around his hips and then he's moving. He pulls out of her almost completely and then thrusts back hard.  
After that he sets a taut pace.  
He leans over her again and grabs her shoulder to hold her tight.  
And she clings to his arm and pulls him down to her by the hair.  
With a kiss he muffles her screams and his too, after all Threepeo is running around somewhere in the house.

It's just what Rey needed. Ben has been so caring and restrained. He gave her space to process what happened. He didn't push her and yet he was always there for her. And now he's giving her everything he has. This is not scratching because it itches! This is more... Much more!

_*Oh my God... I've fallen in love with this man...! I love him! *_

The realization makes her come and brings tears to her eyes. He follows her shortly after and ends with a loud roar inside her.

After their high, he collapses on top of her, exhausted. Rey loosens her legs around him and lets them hang over the edge of the table. They both gradually catch their breath and Rey strokes his hair reassuringly.

When he lifts his head and looks at her with that silly smile that only a man puts on after having sex, she has to smile with him. Embarrassed, she bites her lower lip and traces his cheek and beauty marks with her fingers.  
"Ben I..." she begins, feeling heat rising in her cheeks.

_*It's simple, isn't it! Just say it! He won't eat you up! *_ she tries to motivate herself.

"I-I-I..."

"Sir! I'm bringing your coffee!" interjects the voice of Threepeo, who enters the room with a coffee mug in his hand.

"Oh no sir! This... I didn't mean to... Oh heavens Lord God, forgive me!"  
"Oh My God! Ben! Get off me!"  
"Oh damn! Threepeo! Get out!"  
All three shout at the same moment.

The next moment Threepeo turns back around with his eyes squinted shut, slams into the door and douses himself with the hot coffee.  
Ben jumps up from Rey, trips over his dropped trousers and falls backwards onto the floor.  
Rey quickly pulls her shirt down to cover her nakedness, slides off the desk, lands on Ben, and accidentally gives him a direct bull's-eye to his crown jewels with her knee.

We can assume that Ben and Rey went deaf after Threepeo gave a siren-like scream of his burn pain, that Ben had to hold an ice pack in front of his crotch for some time and that Rey doesn't think much of sex without locked doors anymore.

A few days after these very sobering events, Ben and Rey actually meet up with Hux and Rose for a double date.  
They meet in a small Italian restaurant where they have reserved a small Winter Garden for themselves. As a precaution, they are not observed by other guests if they start talking to the air.

After sitting down, Rey immediately feels uncomfortable. Rose, had visited her on and off in recent weeks but explaining to her that she sees ghosts is visibly difficult... let alone Hux.  
Ben doesn't seem to show this concern, but he also works with the two of them every day.

Normally, after telling someone about her gift, Rey can leave town and create the ultimate distance, but in this case, Rose is about to become a permanent part of her life.  
And then of course there's the matter of her sister Paige.  
How is she going to break all this to her gently?

"Rey! Who were you actually talking to back in the forest? Because, you definitely didn't exchange a word with that bearded grumpy bear!" Rose suddenly shoots off, scattering all of Rey's worries.  
"In that case, you might as well explain to me what that light show was that took place in the hut!" Hux interjects.

Ben and Rey look at each other with wide eyes, searching the other's gaze for a suitable answer.  
Who could have guessed that the two of them would get straight to the point before they even had the menus.

"Um, so you know..." she begins, stuttering.  
"Do you actually believe in... ghosts?" she finally asks directly.  
"Um... well...," Rose stammers around for a moment, looking first at Hux, who is staring wide-eyed at the table, then at Ben, who is eyeing Rey suspiciously from the side.  
Silent for another moment, she looks briefly at her water glass, then seems to remember something and looks past Rey into the distance.  
The next moment there is a certain vulnerability in Rose's expression and Rey guesses what she will ask next.

"Is anyone here?" she asks in a low voice, looking around the room unobtrusively.  
"Yes." Huffs Rey softly.  
Now Rose's first tears are gathering.  
"It's her... isn't it? Paige is here?" she asks in a brittle voice.  
Rey just nods.

Rose seems to collect herself briefly and then looks resolutely at Ben and Rey.  
"Please don't take this the wrong way but... You're obviously trying to tell me that you can see ghosts...?" she asks more precisely.  
"Yes... I..." she starts and then looks at Ben.  
"We've been able to see ghosts since we were kids." She informs matter-of-factly.  
"That means a ghost told you that Rey was kidna…?!" Hux wants to ask directed at Ben, but is immediately interrupted by Rose.  
"Wait please darling!" she says, raising her hand in his direction.

"Rey! You'll understand for sure if I don't believe you so easily... You'll have to give me some proof already!" she says seriously.  
Rey nods in understanding.  
"What do you expect?"  
"I don't know... Can you see them, do you just hear them or do you have to channel them in a seance?"

Rey has to chuckle briefly, but not because of Rose's lawyer-like directness, but because Paige is standing right next to Rose, making bunny ears with two fingers behind her head and making a hilarious grimace.  
Ben, who finds the whole thing far less funny, clears his throat briefly and Paige stops her theatrics.

"Sorry! Uh... I can see them and hear them, just like I can see you. I can talk to them but they can also hear what you're saying."  
"Mhm...! Can you maybe tell me what she's wearing right now?" she asks, still sceptical.  
Paige takes a step forward in response and turns once.  
"Well... She's wearing a pretty, dark blue dress, knee length, Asian style." She describes.

"Was she wearing that dress when she was laid to rest?" asks Rey curiously.  
Rose confirms this and Ben interjects briefly.  
"Why was she wearing the dress she was buried in? Did she die in that dress too?" he asks a little rudely.

_*Oh man! He really has no sensitivity at all! *_ she thinks to herself briefly.

"Um... That's completely irrelevant! Ghosts can wear whatever they want. Most just don't know they can but... Could we maybe discuss this later?" she asks addressing him and is about to turn back to Rose and her sister when, "Then I don't understand this guy walking around in the forest completely naked."

With a furrowed brow she stares at Ben and asks, "You know about naked Johnnie?"  
"His name is Johnnie?" he asks in wonder...but naively.

_*If he's seen Johnnie...? He had suggested a quickie that night, hadn't he...? *_

"Yes. We'll have to talk about that!" she says, really turning back to the Tico sisters now.  
Then she sees Paige twirling a teardrop-shaped pendant hanging around her neck between her fingers.

"She's also wearing a... pendant... Is that a moonstone?" she asks, addressing Paige, but triggering something in Rose.  
She puts her hand in front of her mouth and really starts to cry.  
"That was our grandmother's pendant... Paige had always wanted to wear that so much and... After her accident, mum decided she shouldn't be buried without the necklace."  
As Rose wipes away her tears, Hux puts an arm over her shoulder to comfort her.

"I'm very grateful to Mom for that." Says Paige, looking at the piece of jewellery.  
"I hope to find Grandma in the light and give it back to her."  
"That sounds nice." Says Rey.  
"What?" interjects Rose.  
"What did she say? Did she say something to me?" she asks excitedly now.

"Oh yes! You have to tell her something for me!" says Paige.  
"Tell her please..."

As soon as Paige finishes her sentence, Ben almost chokes on the water he is drinking and Rey looks at her with widening eyes.

"What?" asks Rose again, and Rey has to think for a moment how to relay what she's said sensibly.

"Well..., she said that... she's very pleased for you... and hopes that you and Hux will be happy."  
"That's nice of her." Says Hux kindly.  
"She said that?! Nothing else?" asks Rose dejectedly.  
"You better tell her what I said!" almost shouts Paige, making Rey and Ben lean away from her a bit too.

"It's okay...!" says Rey, looking at Rose with a high red face.  
"She says that... she's glad you finally got the ass to date that guy..." she says, pointing at Hux who is about to drink a glass of water.  
Rey struggles a little with the rest... but then she just says it.  
"... And she wants you to... ride him until he can't walk anymore!"  
In shock, Hux splutters, the water from his mouth, right into Ben's face.

Rey watches with glowing red cheeks as Rose closes her eyes and lowers her head.  
"Yes! That's coming from Paige..., clearly!" she says seriously.  
Hux, coughing, apologises to Ben, who is drying his face with a napkin.

"Rey! Could you take a message to her?" asks Rose, still serious.  
"I told you she could hear you." Rey replies, having to hide her impatience.

_*Why do even the living expect me to repeat everything they say, when I mention at the beginning of every conversation that the ghosts can hear us? *_

Rose clears her throat and looks up at no one in particular.  
"Listen Paige. I thank you for your supportive opinion but..."  
At the serious tone Rose strikes, Hux and Ben seem to expect a thunderstorm, so they defensively hold their glasses to their mouths.  
"... I can only say two things about that. One: This is still my life! And two..., hell yeah! I will!"

The moment Hux and Ben spit water in each other's faces in shock, Rey starts laughing heartily. Paige and Rose also join in the laughter and can only calm down some time later.

"Are you going to watch her a bit?" ask Paige after she finally calms down.  
Rey nods with a smile and watches as Paige notices something behind her and starts stealing with joy.  
"What is it?" asks Rose, noticing a change in Rey's face.  
"She sees the light." Huffs Rey.

Gripped, Rose puts both hands to her mouth.  
"Does that mean she's... really going to leave?" she asks as the first tears moisten her eyes, internally fighting the emotions that don't want her sister to leave yet.  
Paige turns to Rose and gently strokes her cheek with her knuckle.  
Astonished, the younger sister grabs the spot and whispers, "This is crazy!"  
"Don't forget me, Sis!"  
In tears, Rose leans against Hux, who hugs her comfortingly.

"Please tell him sometime that if he breaks my little sister's heart, I'll come back and kick his ass!" pleads Paige, addressing Rey.  
Then she turns back to the light.  
"It's so beautiful!" she says, smiling.  
"Do you see it too?"  
"No. It's just for you." Replies Rey.  
"But then how can you be sure?"  
"It's not like I'll stop believing in the sun when it's night." Says Rey with a smile.  
"Touché!"

Then Paige looks ahead again.  
"There's my grandma!" she exclaims joyfully.  
The next moment her expression changes and Rey isn't sure what's going on.  
"Hi. I know you!" she says to someone Ben and Rey can't see.  
She nods with a smile.  
"Yes, I will."  
Paige turns her around again and says with tears in her eyes, "Rey! He says he's really, really proud of you!"

Rey knows immediately who she means. With each passing second, she can make out Paige more and more indistinctly, not only because she turns to the light and walks towards it, but also because Rey's eyes fill with tears.

_*Grandpa Obi! *_

Lost in thought, Rey lowers her head and lets the tears run free. Ben moves a little closer to her, strokes her back and hands her a napkin to wipe her tears with.

There they sit, both girls crying and the men try to comfort them sympathetically.  
Unfortunately, at this moment a waiter enters the room and looks at the scene in irritation.  
He silently hands the menu to the women.  
When they both look up at him and say, with their tear-stained faces, "Thank you!" with a friendly smile, the man is taken aback and says, as he hands the men the menu, "My gosh! Your girls must be starving!"

As the evening goes on, Ben and Rey explain everything about the ghost world to the two of them and try to answer all their questions.

They still can't explain the question about the bright light that robbed Rey's abductors of their consciousness.  
Rose brings up the subject of the ghosts' clothes again and Rey firmly intends to ask Ben later about naked Johnnie and whether he saw the naked traffic accident back then when he suggested an impromptu quickie to her.

"Tell me. Do the ghosts also bring you any kind of benefits...? I don't know, for example... Did they ever help you cheat at school or predict the lottery numbers?" asks Rose bluntly.  
"Well... Well... Apart from the fact that even ghosts can't see the future..., now and then the ghosts do help me, but... Normally I avoid approaching them on my own!"  
"Why? I thought you were helping them."  
"I do, but there are a lot of ghosts. And I can't chat up any random ghost on the street without other people thinking I'm a crazy person arguing with the air." she says, continuing to think.  
"For example, I was once approached by a woman on the open street who asked me to tell her husband, who was just sitting in a cafe nearby, that she didn't like his new girlfriend."

"And what did you do?" asks Rose curiously.  
"I went into the cafe and had the most awkward conversation ever."  
"Why? Didn't he believe you?"  
"Yes, he did. It's just that after he promised to break up with the woman, he asked me out on a date..."  
"No!" Rose exclaims in amazement.  
"... In front of his late wife!" adds Rey.  
"What an ass!" says Rose.  
"Those were his wife's exact words too. And then she managed to throw the coffee in his face."

The evening comes to a chirpy end. The two couples say goodbye outside the restaurant and plan more such meetings.  
To Rey's amazement, both Rose and Hux, took the whole thing very casually.  
Now she would have to think about including Finn and Poe at some point, as she was getting on better with them too.

Back at the house, Rey then refrained from approaching Ben about Naked Johnnie after all. Someday she would tease him about it but not today!  
Tonight, they enjoy each other, as they did many other nights that followed.  
That night she had also confessed to him for the first time that she loved him.

Ben managed to keep it together for another two weeks, until on another double date he took out a small box and wanted to kneel down in front of Rey.  
She had been able to stop him in time and threatened to send the most annoying ghosts after him if he didn't sit back down immediately and eat his fucking salmon tartar in peace.

They had agreed afterwards that he would not be allowed to propose to her for at least three months....

Guess what?

It turned out to be a beautiful wedding. Many guests were there and many ghosts also attended the event. Han and Leia were thrilled to be part of the celebration and even Luke was invited.  
Ben and Rey got married behind the house, with a view of the sea and a dreamlike sunset.

Sometime later, as they were looking at the wedding photos in the garden behind the house, Rey noticed a figure of light standing next to her in a picture with her and Ben.

Looking out to sea, she wishes a little that she could have met her grandfather Obi Kenobi.  
But deep inside she knows that she will see him again one day in the distant future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now we have reached the end.  
> I really hope you enjoyed the story.  
> It was one of the most emotional stories for me, both sad and fun.
> 
> Enjoy the nice weather (If it is nice weather where you live) and stay healthy everyone!  
> Your Lori ♥


End file.
